The Daily Brief
Earnings Week: Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon Lead 10 Major Reports as Profits Track Up 32%
About a third of the S&P 500 reports between Monday and Friday, the Federal Reserve decides rates in the middle of it, and the three biggest AI spenders show whether the money is working. The ten reports that matter, day by day, with the earnings per share Wall Street expects.
The busiest week of the season#
Roughly one-third of the S&P 500 reports results this week, in what Reuters calls the busiest week of the third-quarter earnings season. The calendar is stacked at both ends of the risk spectrum: the Federal Reserve announces its rate decision at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, and Microsoft and Alphabet report two hours later. Amazon follows on Thursday, the same morning the government's first read on third-quarter GDP and the September PCE inflation report land.
Profits are tracking strong. S&P 500 earnings are on pace to rise more than 32 percent for the quarter, per LSEG data cited in preview coverage — and the market still spent last week asking harder questions. The Nasdaq posted its biggest one-day drop since June on Thursday after Meta's results disappointed, which sets the week's real test: not whether the big AI spenders beat estimates, but whether their capital spending plans still look like money well spent.
The ten reports that matter#
Expected EPS figures are analyst consensus, compiled from MarketBeat, TipRanks and Zacks estimates; aggregators differ by a few cents on several names.
| Day | Company | Reports | Expected EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, Oct 26 | Verizon (VZ) | Before the open | $1.27 |
| Tuesday, Oct 27 | Visa (V) | After the close | $3.43 |
| Wednesday, Oct 28 | Microsoft (MSFT) | After the close | $4.71 |
| Wednesday, Oct 28 | Alphabet (GOOGL) | After the close | $2.94 |
| Thursday, Oct 29 | Eli Lilly (LLY) | Before the open | $9.78 adjusted |
| Thursday, Oct 29 | Amazon (AMZN) | After the close | $1.96 |
| Thursday, Oct 29 | Intel (INTC) | After the close | $0.40 |
| Thursday, Oct 29 | Coinbase (COIN) | After the close | -$0.23 |
| Friday, Oct 30 | Exxon Mobil (XOM) | Before the open | $3.80 |
| Friday, Oct 30 | Chevron (CVX) | Before the open | $4.86 |
What to watch#
Wednesday is the main event. Futures price a less than 10 percent chance of a rate move this week, so the decision itself is the calm part; the signal is what Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference says about December, where odds of a hike sit near 80 percent. Microsoft (call 5:30 p.m.) and Alphabet (call 4:30 p.m.) then report into that backdrop, and the number that has moved these stocks all season is the AI capital spending guide — hyperscaler spending is expected to reach about $800 billion this year.
Thursday morning tests the Fed's story. The advance GDP estimate (consensus near 3.0 to 3.2 percent annualised) and September PCE inflation (core expected near 3.1 percent year over year) arrive together, hours before Amazon reports. Eli Lilly opens the day with the market's most-watched drug story: consensus expects about $22 billion in revenue on GLP-1 demand.
Friday closes with energy. Exxon Mobil and Chevron report before the open with oil prices elevated — a clean read on what high crude does to cash flow and buybacks.
Estimates are analyst consensus and will move as the week goes; they are not investment advice. This brief's images and companion video were generated with AI assistance.
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