Jul 28, 2026
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Don't miss out: Earnings season comes around just 4 times a year.
These announcements are closely-watched for potential market opportunities by:
Short-term traders: stock prices often move big and fast, which traders crave.
Long-term investors: these quarterly reports offer a chance to reassess their holdings (buy? hold? sell?), depending on what the company's leadership conveys about its future profits outlook.
READ MORE: 3 Trading Strategies for Earnings Season
AI spending fears dominate earnings reports
Within a span of 2 days (July 29-30), some of the biggest names in tech/AI, from the 🇺🇸 US to South Korea 🇰🇷, are set to unveil their latest earnings reports.
Much of these announcements for this week's chosen 6 stocks will be dominated by one primary question:
Will all the AI spending (capital expenditures) ultimately pay off?
Stock investors have been increasingly doubting the ROI (return on investment) on AI, which has seen steep plummets for many of these stocks (except one which hit a new record high yesterday - scroll to the end to find out who).
And if you need a reason to follow our series of US earnings report, here's what you missed last week (published Fri, July 24th):
Tesla, Alphabet, Intel respected our post-earnings targets!
Looking ahead, here's your preview for all 6 big tech/AI companies that are set to report their earnings between July 29-30th:
(year-to-date/ytd % performance and market cap figures below as of US market close Mon, July 27, except for Samsung and SK Hynix's South Korean shares - as of time of writing)
1) SK Hynix: around midnight UTC July 29th
YTD share price performance: +131%.
However, this once-darling of AI memory stocks has been in a freefall, plummeting as much as 57.6% from its record high last month (June 23rd) as investors booked profits amid escalating AI spending fears.
The selloff also reflects fears of Chinese chip competition, overcrowding in the AI trade, and leverage-induced volatility from Korean retail investors using leveraged ETFs.
Market cap: about US$ 0.74 trillion
Earnings Preview: What to look out for?
SK Hynix is the world's #1 HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory) supplier to Nvidia.
Investors want to hear that SK Hynix's HBM4 ramp is on track and that demand will exceed supply for the next 3 years - as management guided last quarter - and whether the "supercycle" is intact, despite the dramatic stock selloff.
How might this stock react? 4.1% up/down
UPSIDE target: around 1093
DOWNSIDE target: around 1010
2) Microsoft: after US markets close July 29th
YTD share price performance: -19.5%
Microsoft shares have been weighed down by investor skepticism over its massive AI capex commitments, expected to exceed US$ 240 billion in 2027!
Market cap: US$ 2.89 trillion
Earnings Preview: What to look out for?
Are Azure's (Microsoft's cloud business) growth rate and revenue strong enough to offset AI capex?
How might this stock react? 6.5% up/down
UPSIDE target: around $418.86
DOWNSIDE target: around $368
3) Meta: after US markets close July 29th
YTD share price performance: -10%
Market cap: US$ 1.5 trillion
Earnings Preview: What to look out for?
Recall that, at its previous earnings announcement, Meta raised its full-year capex guidance to $125–145B, well above expectations.
Some Wall Street analysts believe that Meta may have to spend even more on AI to stay ahead, though the gap between AI spend and AI revenue is the central debate.
How might this stock react? 7.3% up/down
UPSIDE target: around $640
DOWNSIDE target: around $553
4) Samsung: around 1:00 AM UTC July 30
YTD share price performance: +78.3%
Despite still boasting double-digit year-to-date gains, Samsung has been caught up in the broader unwinding of the AI trade, falling nearly 43% since its all-time high in mid-June.
Market cap: about US$ 0.87 trillion
Earnings Preview: What to look out for?
Earlier this month, Samsung already announced preliminary quarterly profit soared 19-fold - yet the stock fell 8% for two consecutive days (July 7th and 8th).
Investors are now asking whether Samsung can close the HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory) technology gap with SK Hynix, and whether AI chip demand can hold up against rising Chinese competition
How might this stock react? 8% up/down
UPSIDE target: around $161
DOWNSIDE target: around $137
5) Amazon: after US markets close July 30th
YTD share price performance: +0.25%
Market cap: US$ 2.49 trillion
Earnings Preview: What to look out for?
Once again, it's cloud (AWS) growth forecasted at 32% vs. AI capex burn (US$ 240.6 billion expected for 2027, 20% more than in 2026).
Also look out for figures on Prime Day sales and 2Q advertising (sponsored products, video, retail media, etc.)
How might this stock react? 5.7% up/down
UPSIDE target: around $244.85
DOWNSIDE target: around $218.45
6) Apple: after US markets close July 30th
YTD share price performance: +24%
In mid-July after Apple received regulatory approval for its AI features in China and unveiled a new Siri AI beta that analysts described as making the phone feel "like new".
Investors have been cheering the news to send this stock to a new record high yesterday (Mon, July 27th)!
Market cap: US$ 4.95 trillion
Also, in case you didn't know ...
Apple has now overtaken Nvidia as the biggest company in the world!
Apple's new record high just yesterday (Mon, July 27th) raises its valuation past Nvidia's market cap of US$ 4.755 trillion.
Nvidia had been the world's most valuable company since May 2025, but has now been overtaken by Apple.
We gave you a heads up about this potential leap-frogging over a week ago (published July 17th):
Apple vs. Nvidia - Which will end 2026 as "world's most valuable company"?
Earnings Preview: What to look out for?
This is Tim Cook's final earnings call as CEO - a historic moment.
Investors want to know whether Apple Intelligence is actually driving iPhone upgrades, and whether iPhone sales are strong enough to offset lower margins, given rising memory-chip costs flagged last quarter.
The dominant theme: Apple's AI spending of over US$ 18 billion in 2027 - how and when might that pay off?
How might this stock react? 3.2% up/down
UPSIDE target: around $350
DOWNSIDE target: around $328 / 21-day simple moving average (SMA)
DISCLAIMER:This article is provided for general information and reflects the author’s views only. It does not constitute investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or digital assets. Your ability to access or use any products or services mentioned may be subject to the laws and regulatory requirements of your jurisdiction.