• | 9:30 am

Big Tech earnings will decide the fate of the stock market this week in the US

Rapid-fire reports from Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon have investors hoping for the best but bracing for the worst.

[Source photo: Getty]

With the economy inĀ questionable shape, all eyes are on earnings this week to try and get a sense of how well some of Americaā€™s corporate giants are faring in an increasingly tough economic environment. That includes a smattering of tech giants: Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon.

We got an early preview last week whenĀ NetflixĀ reportedĀ second-quarter earningsĀ that largely beat expectations, despite showing that the streaming platform lost almost one million subscribers. While that was the largest drop in customer count in company history, it was also half of what the company expected to loseā€”and that could be a good sign for the tech sector, which has been taking measures to prepare for an economic slowdown or recession.

For good measure, both Snap and Twitter also recently reported earnings, and neither companyā€™sĀ numbers were as rosyĀ as Netflixā€™s. So, so far, indications out of the tech field are mixed.

This week, however, weā€™ll get a much better idea of how the industry is faring, with several earnings releases on tap. Here are the tech earnings announcements coming up this week, and what to watch out for with each company:

ALPHABET

AnnouncingĀ Q2 2022 earnings todayĀ (July 26) at 2 PM PT

  • What to watch for: Despite some PR snafus (the companyĀ was caughtĀ sharing user data with a sanctioned Russian company), Google parent Alphabet keeps chugging along. But many analysts will be eager to see how much TikTok is affecting YouTubeā€™s ad revenue, as it has grown into a formidable competitor, especiallyĀ among youngerĀ users. As of Tuesday, Alphabetā€™s stock is trading at around $105ā€”a decrease of more than 25% year-to-date.

MICROSOFT

AnnouncingĀ Q4 FY 2022 earningsĀ today at 2:30 PM PT

  • What to watch for:Ā Analysts are expecting Microsoft to show earnings growth, largely due to its burgeoning cloud computing business, Azure,Ā accordingĀ to theĀ Wall Street Journal. There are signs of trouble, however, as PC sales have recently seen a big drop, and the growing strength of the U.S. dollar has made international sales less lucrative than in years past. Microsoft is also in the early stages of handlingĀ unionization effortsĀ at Activision Blizzard, a video game company it recently acquired. That wonā€™t have much or any impact on earnings, but it is something that the company may address.

META

AnnouncingĀ Q2 2022 earnings tomorrow (July 27) at 2 PM PT

  • What to watch for: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram (among others), has reliably delivered strong growth and revenues to investors for years. But it could beĀ losing steam, and paired with a more difficult economic environment, itā€™s possible that investors could be in store for a disappointing earnings report. Last quarter, Meta reported a decline in users for the first time ever, and a leaked internal memoĀ reportedĀ by Reuters last month showed that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been warning employees to prepare for a deep economic downturn. Like Alphabet, Meta and its social media platforms are scrambling for ways to address growing competition from TikTok.

APPLE

AnnouncingĀ Q3 FY 2022 earningsĀ on Thursday (July 28) at 2 PM PT

  • What to watch for: Appleā€™s bread and butter over the past few years has been its ability to get customers to buy its latest gadgetsā€”iPhones, iPads, AirPods, etc.ā€”but another thing to watch is how well customers are taking to Appleā€™s services, such as Apple TV+. Last month, AppleĀ debutedĀ new computers in the form of a fresh MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (featuring the new M2 chip), which may have spurred some excitement about the brand. But it also has plans to slow spending and hiring across the company, as reported byĀ Bloomberg, which could be telling for its earnings release.

AMAZON

AnnouncingĀ Q2 2022 earningsĀ on Thursday at 2:30 PM PT

  • What to watch for: Amazon is likely more at theĀ mercy of inflationĀ than most other tech companies, given its dominance as a retail platform; and thatā€™s perhaps the main thing to keep an eye on when the company reports earnings on Thursday. (Fellow retail giant Walmart hasĀ already warnedĀ of a burgeoning inventory crisis.) Itā€™s worth noting, too, that Amazonā€™s stock has effectively given up all of its pandemic-era gains, and since topping out at more than $180 per share a year ago (pre split), is now trading at less than $118 per shareā€”a decline of more than 34%, and roughly equal to its value in April 2020.

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