Microsoft and Alphabet report quarterly results after the market close on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, and Amazon follows on Thursday, October 29. The three companies anchor a week in which roughly one-third of S&P 500 members report, and Wall Street will focus on one number above all: capital spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The setup
Expectations are high. S&P 500 companies are on track to increase third-quarter earnings by more than 32 percent, according to LSEG IBES data cited by Reuters. The market wobbled anyway this week, with the Nasdaq Composite posting its biggest one-day drop since June on Thursday as investors questioned the financing costs behind heavy spending on AI data centers.
Reuters described Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon as three AI hyperscalers whose capital spending forecasts will be closely watched. The Federal Reserve’s policy meeting lands in the same week, adding a rate backdrop to a crowded earnings calendar.
What analysts expect from the big tech trio
| Company | Report date | Consensus EPS | Key focus area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft (MSFT) | October 28 | $4.71 | Azure growth near 45 percent |
| Alphabet (GOOGL) | October 28 | $2.94 | Cloud revenue and net income |
| Amazon (AMZN) | October 29 | $1.96 | Capex and AWS growth |
Microsoft has guided revenue to a range of $89.85 billion to $90.95 billion for its fiscal first quarter, implying roughly 16 to 17 percent annual growth, and analysts model about $90.6 billion. Alphabet carries a consensus near $112.7 billion in revenue, up almost 29 percent from a year earlier. Amazon estimates range from $1.72 to $2.23 per share, with an average recommendation of Buy across 70 analysts and an average price target of $332.47.
Microsoft: Azure in the spotlight
Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform, is expected to grow about 45 percent at constant currency, accelerating from 43 percent in the prior quarter. The company beat earnings estimates by roughly 50 cents per share in its July report, which raises the bar for Wednesday. Any sign that cloud growth is slowing would pressure a stock that trades on AI momentum.
Alphabet: growth with an income caveat
Analysts expect operating income growth near 38 percent, but Pepperstone research notes a wrinkle in the bottom line. Adjusted net income is expected to decline about 7.6 percent to roughly $38.2 billion as depreciation from the company’s massive capital spending catches up with reported profits. Google Cloud and Alphabet’s in-house TPU chips remain the growth engines, and Bloomberg data shows the company has beaten revenue expectations in each of the past eight quarters.
Amazon: the spending question
Amazon reports a day after its peers, with the average analyst estimate at $1.96 per share. The company beat its June-quarter estimate by a wide margin, and the stock carries an average Buy rating with a $332.47 average target. Investors will listen for AWS growth commentary and any update on 2026 capital spending plans.
Why capital spending dominates
All three companies are pouring money into data centers at a pace that has started to worry lenders and equity investors alike. Thursday’s selloff was about the cost of financing that buildout, not the demand for AI products. For income-oriented investors, none of the three is a yield story. The relevance is indirect: capital spending forecasts shape the outlook for rates, the broader market, and the earnings trajectory of the whole S&P 500.
The most important moments next week may come in the question-and-answer sessions, when executives quantify how much spending is revenue-generating versus speculative. That distinction, more than any single earnings beat, will decide whether this earnings season extends the rally or deepens the pause.
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