Big Tech’s Earnings Week Is Here—and AI, Chips, and Trillions in Spending Are About to Decide the Market’s Next Move

Wall Street is bracing for impact.

The first wave of Big Tech earnings for the new year kicks off this week, starting with Intel’s results after the bell on Thursday—and the stakes couldn’t be higher. From artificial intelligence to PC demand, cloud growth to chip exports, this earnings season could determine whether the AI-fueled rally still has fuel left… or finally hits turbulence.

Once again, AI dominates the narrative. Investors aren’t just asking who’s building the best models—they want to know who’s actually making money after pouring hundreds of billions into infrastructure.

Hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta insist demand is so overwhelming that they’re still capacity-constrained. Translation: they can’t build data centers fast enough—and if they don’t keep spending, they risk leaving revenue on the table.

At Davos, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang summed it up bluntly:

That statement alone set the tone for earnings expectations.

Wall Street’s forecasts are aggressive—and missing them could send shockwaves through the AI trade:

If even one of these giants disappoints, it won’t just hit their stock—it could ripple across the entire AI ecosystem, from chipmakers to data-center suppliers.

Despite investor concerns about costs, Big Tech is pressing the accelerator:

Employee compensation is also climbing fast—especially at Meta, which went on an aggressive hiring spree to poach top AI talent with eye-watering pay packages.

Beyond AI, investors are watching Intel and AMD closely for signs of a PC rebound.

Microsoft’s decision to end Windows 10 support could trigger a long-awaited upgrade cycle for laptops and desktops. Gartner data already shows global PC shipments rising 9.3% in Q4 2025.

But there’s a catch:
The global memory shortage, caused in part by AI data centers consuming massive supplies, could drive PC prices higher—potentially slowing demand just as it starts to recover.

Apple enters earnings season with optimism.

CEO Tim Cook has said Q1 is shaping up to be Apple’s best ever, including record iPhone revenue. Investors will be watching closely for confirmation—especially in China, where sales dipped in Q4.

Cook says the region is already bouncing back, with store traffic up sharply in Q1. If Apple delivers, it could provide a rare pocket of stability amid AI-driven volatility.

No earnings reports matter more this quarter than Nvidia and AMD.

Both companies unveiled next-generation AI platforms at CES—Nvidia’s Vera Rubin and AMD’s Helios rack-scale system—but expectations are sky-high.

For Nvidia, even beating Wall Street estimates may not be enough. The stock has pulled back from its October highs, when its market cap briefly crossed $5 trillion, and investors want reassurance that growth can keep pace with valuation.

China remains a wild card. While the Trump administration has allowed GPU sales with a 25% fee, reports suggest Chinese authorities are discouraging purchases unless they’re for limited uses like academic research.

Adding another layer of uncertainty, President Trump has backed off—at least for now—on threats of steep new tariffs against Europe tied to Greenland negotiations. The issue isn’t settled, and the risk of a renewed EU–U.S. trade conflict still hangs over markets.

That means even strong earnings might not be enough to lift stocks if geopolitical tensions flare up again.

AI spending, cloud growth, chip demand, PC recovery, China exposure, and global politics are all colliding at once. The result? One of the most consequential earnings stretches in years.

Whether this season confirms the AI boom—or exposes cracks beneath the surface—will be decided company by company, report by report.

Either way, get ready.
This week, the market won’t blink.