Tech Earnings & U.S. Labour Data: Markets Face a Packed Week Ahead

The largest US technology companies are reporting earnings, and results so far hinge on a key question: Is AI spending translating into returns?

So far, Apple delivered a record quarter. Meta seems to have convinced traders that its AI bet is working. Microsoft, despite beating estimates, saw its shares fall sharply on slowing cloud growth. Moreover, this week brings seven major reports:  Palantir and AMD early in the week, then Alphabet, Arm, Qualcomm, and Snap on Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday. Meanwhile, manufacturing PMI data, eurozone inflation, and the US jobs report will provide the economic backdrop. 

Here’s what can be expected:

TL;DR

• Apple and Meta may have set a high bar with strong results, while Microsoft slid 10% with concerns about Azure growth.

• Seven major tech names report this week: Palantir and AMD (early week), followed by Alphabet, Arm, Qualcomm, Snap, and Amazon.

• AI Capex vs. Returns. The top four hyperscalers are expected to spend ~$500 billion on their 2026 AI expenditure, but investors need to see results.

• Keep an eye on the markets following   the US Nonfarm Payrolls report (Friday) and Eurozone CPI (Wednesday).

What Can Apple's Record Quarter Mean?

Apple reported fiscal Q1 2026 results last week, on Thursday, 29 January, posting revenue of $143.8bn - up 16% year-on-year and well above the $138.4bn analyst consensus. Earnings per share reached $2.84, beating estimates of $2.67.

The iPhone was the standout, generating $85.3bn in sales, up 23% year-on-year, with CEO Tim Cook calling demand for the iPhone 17 range unprecedented across every geographic region. China's revenue climbed 38% to $25.53bn.

Apple may have proved that organisations which execute their strategies with discipline get rewarded. The company allocated $2.4bn for capital expenses, which differs from hyperscalers that use their billions to build AI infrastructure.

Monday and Tuesday: Palantir and AMD Open the Week

Palantir (Monday 2 February, after market close)

Palantir reports Q4 and full-year 2025 results to kick off the week. The AI software specialist has been one of the standout performers of the past year, with revenue growing 63% year-on-year in Q3 and US commercial revenue more than doubling.

Analysts expect Q4 revenue of approximately $1.34bn, roughly 62% year-on-year growth, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.21. The market will monitor AIP adoption growth at Palantir since the company achieved its highest Rule of 40 score at 114% during Q3.

The stock trades on a demanding valuation as its trailing P/E ratio exceeds 355.14, which would lead to immediate market reactions when the company releases negative results or fails to provide sufficient guidance. Palantir provided its 2025 annual revenue projection at $4.4 billion, which would show a 53% increase from the previous year.

AMD (Tuesday 3 February, after market close)

Advanced Micro Devices reports Q4 and full-year 2025 results on Tuesday. Analysts expect Q4 EPS of approximately $1.10-1.24, up roughly 25% year-on-year, and AMD guided for Q4 revenue of approximately $9.6bn. (Source: Alpha Sense)

The focus will be on data centre GPU sales to compare with Nvidia in this particular market segment. The third quarter of last year brought AMD $9.2 billion in revenue, which showed a 36% growth compared to the previous year. The market predicts AI-specific revenue will achieve between $14-15 billion during 2026 because of rising interest in accelerator products. The market analysts have confirmed that AMD lacks sufficient server CPUs for 2026 due to surging hyperscaler demand.

Wednesday: Alphabet, ARM, Qualcomm, and Snap

Wednesday, 4 February, is the busiest day of the week, with four notable tech names reporting after market close.

Alphabet

The analyst consensus projects Alphabet’s Q4 revenue to reach $111.4bn, which would result in a 15.5% annual growth rate, while EPS would fall between $2.59 and $2.64.

The headline metric is Google Cloud revenue. Cloud generated $15.2bn in Q3 revenue, which showed a 34% annual increase, while operating income reached $3.6bn at more than double the previous year's level.

Capital expenditure guidance is the other focus. Alphabet spent between $91-93bn in 2025, and management indicated a "significant increase" for 2026. Any specifics will be compared to what Microsoft and Meta recently disclosed. GOOGL closed at $337.37 on 30 January 2026.

Arm Holdings

Arm guided for revenue of approximately $1.225bn, representing roughly 25% year-on-year growth, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.41.

Arm's positioning at the centre of the AI hardware ecosystem, with its architecture powering everything from smartphones to data centre accelerators, makes it a gauge of semiconductor industry demand. Record royalty revenue and the transition to the higher-fee v9 architecture will be closely watched.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm reports Q1 fiscal year 2026 results. Management guided for revenue of $11.8-12.6bn and non-GAAP EPS of $3.30-3.50 following a Q4 FY2025 that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Traders will watch Qualcomm's AI inference data centre development and its growing automotive and IoT divisions since the company reached record revenue during Q4 FY2025. Qualcomm has established a goal to achieve $22bn in total automotive and IoT revenue during fiscal year 2029.

Snap

Snap reports Q4 2025 results. The market predicts $1.7bn in revenue, a 9% increase year-on-year, while earnings per share (EPS) would reach $0.15. The company provided guided revenue projections for Q4 at $1.68-1.71bn and adjusted EBITDA between $280-310m, but announced that daily active users might decrease because of new regulations.

The report will offer a read on digital advertising demand heading into 2026, particularly for smaller platforms competing for ad dollars alongside Meta and Alphabet.

Thursday: Amazon Closes Out the Cycle

Amazon

Amazon reports Q4 2025 results on Thursday, 5 February, after market close. The company guided for revenue between $206-213bn and operating income of $21-26bn. Analyst consensus puts EPS at approximately $1.96.

AWS growth is the main focus. In Q3, AWS revenue rose 20.2 percent year on year to $33bn, the fastest in eleven quarters. The backlog grew to $200bn. If AWS growth speeds up above 22 percent or slows down below 20 percent, AWS growth will influence broader sentiment about cloud spending.

The free cash flow dropped 69% to $14.8bn in Q3 after trailing for 12 months. The drop happened due to capex jumping $50.9bn year on year. Amazon gave 2025 capex guidance of about $125bn with an outlook to continue increasing in 2026, keeping Amazon among the top spenders in the AI infrastructure race. AMZN closed at $238.77 on 30 January 2026.

The Sector-Wide AI Spending Narrative

The four largest hyperscalers, Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon, are collectively expected to spend between $470-505bn on capital expenditure in 2026, up from roughly $350-366bn in 2025.

Last week's results showed markets are differentiating clearly between companies. Meta shares rose roughly 10% after reporting, as traders appeared satisfied that rising AI spending was paired with strong revenue growth and a confident outlook. Microsoft shares fell roughly 10% after Azure growth slowed by a single percentage point and quarterly capex reached $37.5bn.

Deutsche Bank analysts noted ahead of earnings that concerns about spending may weigh on valuations even as revenue grows: "Investor fears around the potential impact to earnings from the projected spend, as well as reduced financial flexibility from the elevated investments in the near-to-mid-term, could somewhat outweigh optimism around faster growth".

For Alphabet and Amazon, the message may be clear: revenue growth alone may not be enough. Traders may want to see that AI infrastructure spending creates returns, in cloud revenue margin stability, and customer adoption. The semiconductor names AMD, ARM, and Qualcomm sit on the supply side of this equation and benefit directly from hyperscalers' buildout.

Beyond Earnings: Key Economic Releases & Notable Market Swings 

Economic Reports

Earnings are not the only catalyst for market volatility this week. Multiple important economic reports will be released throughout the United States and European Union, which could affect market risk perceptions and monetary policy decisions of central banks.

• Monday, 2 February - Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).

• Wednesday, 4 February - Eurozone Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• Thursday, 5 February - European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision.

• Friday, 6 February - US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP).

Market Volatility 

In addition, traders and investors should be aware of the recent volatility observed in key safe-haven assets, such as gold and silver. These assets experienced a significant plunge today, erasing some of the record highs achieved last week, as traders processed the sharp correction from the previous week.

Conclusion

Earnings season reaches its peak during this week, with seven large tech companies releasing their results together with key macro data. The week begins with Palantir presenting its AI software expansion story on Monday, followed by AMD’s data centre expansion on Tuesday. Wednesday is the heaviest day, with Alphabet, Arm, Qualcomm, and Snap all due after the bell. Amazon rounds out the cycle on Thursday.

Beyond earnings, the manufacturing PMI data on Monday will show factory performance, while the eurozone CPI reading on Wednesday precedes the ECB's February meeting. The US jobs report on Friday may help determine Federal Reserve policy direction.

*Past performance does not reflect future results. The above is for marketing and general informational purposes only, and are only projections and should not be taken as investment research, investment advice, or a personal recommendation.