Telecom

Next week is one of the busiest of the earnings season. Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Tesla all report, along with Boeing, Exxon, Visa and a long list of others. Between them they cover most of the market’s big themes, so the week could easily set the tone for the rest of the quarter. Here’s what I’ll be watching, sector by sector. Big tech: Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Intel, IBM, ASML Apple ($AAPL): iPhone 16 sales and the services business, which has been carrying a lot of the growth. After a strong 2024 for the stock, expectations are high. Microsoft ($MSFT): cloud and AI should keep revenue growing. I’ll be listening for anything on the AI spending and the OpenAI relationship. Meta ($META): advertising revenue and user engagement are what matter. The metaverse spending is still a wildcard, but the core ad business is expected to be solid. Intel ($INTC): the question is still whether the turnaround is real and whether it can win back share from AMD and NVIDIA. IBM ($IBM): hybrid cloud and AI are the growth story, but margins and guidance will decide the reaction. ASML ($ASML): it sells the machines every chipmaker needs, so its numbers are a good read on global chip demand. Autos: Tesla and GM Tesla ($TSLA): production targets, margins and the next-generation vehicles, plus whatever Elon Musk says about self-driving. General Motors ($GM): the EV transition. Investors want to see EV sales growing and getting closer to profitable. Aerospace and defense: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX Boeing ($BA): still recovering from its production and regulatory problems. Deliveries of the 737 MAX and 787 are the numbers to watch. Lockheed Martin ($LMT): defense budgets are healthy, and demand for the F-35 and missile systems should show up in the results. RTX ($RTX): steady growth is expected on both the commercial and defense sides, though supply chain problems could get in the way. Energy: Exxon Mobil and Chevron Exxon Mobil ($XOM): oil prices have bounced around, and that will show in the results. I’m also curious what they say about the renewable energy spending. Chevron ($CVX): production levels and capital spending, plus an update on the Hess acquisition, which is supposed to drive the longer-term growth. Travel: Royal Caribbean and Southwest Royal Caribbean ($RCL): cruising has come back strongly, so the focus is on bookings and how much pricing power is left. Southwest Airlines ($LUV): a good read on domestic travel demand. Fuel and labor costs are the pressure points. Consumer and payments: Starbucks, Visa, Mastercard Starbucks ($SBUX): a check on consumer spending in the US and China. Same-store sales and margins are what matter. Visa ($V) and Mastercard ($MA): both should benefit from steady consumer spending and the move to digital payments. Cross-border volumes are worth watching. Industrials: Caterpillar and UPS Caterpillar ($CAT): a read on construction and infrastructure demand around the world, plus how well it’s holding prices. UPS ($UPS): e-commerce volumes and cost control while demand is soft. Telecom: AT&T and T-Mobile AT&T ($T): wireless and broadband subscriber growth, and how much it plans to spend. T-Mobile ($TMUS): how it’s holding up against competitors, and whether the 5G push keeps adding customers. If you trade options around earnings, remember that implied volatility is usually inflated going into the report and collapses right after it. Even a correct call on direction can lose money if the move is smaller than the market priced in. ...