Markets Brace for Key Big-Tech Earnings Reports

Big-tech giants Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are all expected to report earnings this coming week. Investors in key markets will be watching closely as global focus moves away from bank earnings.

With lingering uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s plan to stabilize prices, together with persistent recession fears, large-cap tech stocks have been the saving grace and have contributed to the S&P 500’s gains during the first quarter. 

Tech stock prices surged at the beginning of this year, with that trend accelerating last month when big tech firms became havens for investors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up over 15% this year.

Investors are worried that if well-known names report disappointing results this week, some market participants could be tempted to sell, potentially driving a cooling of key stocks that would be bad news for the broader equity market.

A large portion of investors will also be searching for early clues about the impact of the hotly contested artificial intelligence (AI) arms race on earnings reports.

The AI tech race has heated up significantly since ChatGPT took the market by storm. Major names, like Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft, have all revealed plans to solidify their presence in AI, as have other names, like IBM, Amazon, Baidu and Tencent.

Investors will also be searching for evidence that cost-cutting measures, including mass layoffs, have helped improvecompanies’ bottom lines.