Big Tech's Big Results

Big Tech's Big Results By Thursday evening, investors could have a far different feel about this market. And all they'll have to do is watch reports from five companies, with Alphabet and Microsoft posting results on Tuesday, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms reporting on Wednesday, and Amazon.com and Apple reporting on Thursday. That's roughly 25% of the S&P 500's market value just from those five companies -- all posting results in a 72-hour period.  This confluence of results happens every earnings seasons, but that doesn't make it any less exhausting or important. And this quarter feels more momentous than most with tech stocks still suffering from a once-in a decade type decline. The Nasdaq is down 32% from its November 2021 record. Meta stock has been hit the hardest, shedding 60% from its November high.  Here's Eric Savitz, who reports for Barron's from Silicon Valley, on the importance of the next three days:  It will be the last full read on the sector’s fundamental performance before the end of the year, and the wave of reports could determine the next swing in stock prices. The tech sector continues to face fierce headwinds from the strong dollar, softening consumer spending, rising interest rates, stubbornly high inflation, and a potential recession. The market is yearning for some hint that the worst is over, but don’t hold your breath. Eric is watching five key issues: the growth of the cloud, the outlook for the online ad market, the health of the PC market, online holiday shopping trends, and the size of IT budgets. All of those topics will be asked about many times on this week's earnings calls. Eric's latest Tech Trader column has a lot more context on each topic -- and why the company's answers could determine the next direction for stocks.