The US earnings season heats up this week, with investors turning their attention to the first reports from the so-called “Magnificent 7” tech giants, care of Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC). After the S&P 500 posted its first two-week losing streak since June, all eyes are on these mega-cap companies, whose results could determine the trajectory of the broader market.
The Magnificent 7—Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD), Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Tesla, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)—have driven significant S&P 500 gains in recent years. Last year, they contributed more than 40% of the index’s total return, and three of the top five contributors to year-on-year earnings growth were Magnificent 7 firms. Analysts expect the group to report blended earnings growth of more than 20% for the last quarter, compared with just 4.1% for the rest of the S&P 500.
Despite their outsized influence, the Magnificent 7 have underperformed the broader market so far in 2026, as commodities, particularly gold and silver, have drawn investor attention amid geopolitical tensions and concerns over the US dollar, notes Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Microsoft, which reports Wednesday, faces scrutiny over its AI investments, particularly revenues from its cloud platform Azure. Brooks forecasts quarterly revenue of more than $80 billion and net income of $29 billion, with gross margins slightly down at 67.2%. Investors will watch for updates on new data centre capacity, a key factor for future AI growth.
Meta, also reporting Wednesday, is under the spotlight for its AI spending, which doubled to $70–72 billion last year. Revenue is expected at $51.2 billion, with net income of $24.19 billion. Brooks, in particular, is eyeing Meta’s ability to monetize its AI investments and adapt advertising revenues amid tariff risks.
Tesla, reporting alongside Meta and Microsoft, is expected to post $25.1 billion in revenue and $1.5 billion in net income. Beyond earnings, the market will be closely following progress on full driverless technology and its humanoid robot, Optimus, which Tesla sees as a future revenue driver.
Apple, set to report Thursday, is projected to post $138.4 billion in revenue and $39.4 billion in net income. Investors will assess iPhone sales, service revenue growth, and margins, which could be affected by rising memory costs.
“Current positioning suggests traders expect these earnings to trigger a larger market reaction than the FOMC meeting,” said Brooks. “The Magnificent 7’s performance will ultimately determine the overall performance of the S&P 500 this quarter.”