That’s an impressive setup. It also leaves the AI giant with plenty to prove.

When expectations are this high, delivering strong growth may only be the starting point. Investors will want to see whether the company can outperform those forecasts and give them a reason to expect even more in the months ahead. Recent bullish calls from Rosenblatt and Citi suggest both firms believe Palantir can do just that.

What Wall Street Expects From Q3 Earnings

Palantir is expected to report third-quarter results after the market closes on Monday, November 2. The consensus is calling for adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share on revenue of approximately $2.18 billion. Compared with the year-earlier figures of $0.21 per share and $1.18 billion in revenue, those estimates imply earnings growth of roughly 95% and revenue growth of about 85%.

There is another useful comparison. The company previously guided for third-quarter revenue between $2.160 billion and $2.164 billion. The $2.18 billion consensus therefore already assumes the company will come in slightly above its own forecast.

Why Rosenblatt Raised Its PLTR Price Target to $260

Rosenblatt analyst John McPeake maintained a Buy rating and raised his PLTR price target to $260 from $225 ahead of the report. According to the CNBC reporting, McPeake sees continued strong growth as companies move toward using artificial intelligence across their operations. His argument is that larger deployments should help Palantir attract new customers while expanding its business with existing ones.

Winning a customer gives Palantir an initial source of revenue. Getting that customer to use its software across additional departments and business functions creates opportunities for the relationship to become much more valuable.

Commercial and Government Demand Take Center Stage

Citi analysts are also optimistic. The firm maintained its Buy rating and increased its price target to $250 from $245, pointing to encouraging discussions with Palantir’s business partners.

For the U.S. commercial business, Citi expects revenue growth above 140%, even against a much tougher year-earlier comparison. It also anticipates improving growth in the international commercial business. On the government side, Citi’s research suggests healthy demand around the federal fiscal year-end. One specialized federal partner reported growth above 60% across its broader technology practice, with Palantir identified as a major beneficiary.

That figure describes the partner’s business, rather than Palantir’s own government revenue. Still, it helps explain Citi’s confidence. The firm also cautioned against reading too much into weaker contract-tracking data, arguing that delays in reporting Defense Department awards can obscure underlying activity. Investors should remember that contract announcements and recognized revenue follow different timelines.

2026 Guidance Could Drive the Next Move in PLTR Stock

Beyond the quarterly numbers, investors should pay close attention to management’s updated forecast. Following its second-quarter results, Palantir projected full-year revenue of roughly $8.15 billion, representing about 82% growth. Citi expects another substantial increase, potentially lifting the projected annual growth rate by around 10 percentage points. That is Citi’s expectation, not guidance Palantir has issued.

Profitability will also matter. Investors should watch whether the company can support larger customer deployments while controlling expenses and generating cash. Rapid sales growth becomes more valuable when it translates into durable financial gains.

Palantir has a clear opportunity on November 2. It needs to demonstrate that demand is expanding across customers, industries, and government agencies while strengthening its outlook. The strongest report would combine its earnings beat, continued customer expansion, and guidance that supports confidence beyond a single quarter. That would give investors something more useful than AI enthusiasm.

Thursday’s Selloff Changed the Stakes

Investors got a reminder last Thursday that even strong earnings can send a stock lower when the spending behind them raises fresh questions. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) beat revenue expectations, yet its shares dropped 7% after its AI spending plans reignited concerns about how much capital Big Tech will need before investors see adequate returns. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 6.7%.

Microsoft now enters earnings with that same question hanging over its shares, which closed at $524.51 on October 23.

The timing matters because Microsoft has spent the past year building a compelling case for AI. Last quarter, I posited that the company needed to prove enterprise customers were moving beyond AI experiments and embedding Microsoft’s tools into everyday business operations. The Q4 earnings results showed that Azure growth accelerated to 43%, Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion, and commercial remaining performance obligations climbed to $367 billion.

That was the demand investors wanted to see. Now the expensive part is supplying enough computing capacity to serve it.

Azure Must Deliver 45% Growth

Microsoft’s July guidance gives investors a clear benchmark. Management projected Q1 revenue of $89.85 billion to $90.95 billion and Azure growth of approximately 45% in constant currency. The analyst consensus calls for roughly $90.6 billion in revenue and $4.71 in EPS, representing double-digit growth from a year earlier.

Azure is the number I would watch first because it connects Microsoft’s AI ambitions directly to customer spending. In Q4, Azure and other cloud services grew 43%, beating analyst expectations of approximately 40%. Azure also crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time.

That acceleration gives Microsoft a strong starting point, but the next quarter needs to show that demand can absorb the infrastructure coming online. A 45% growth rate would mark another step forward. A slowdown, especially alongside heavier spending, could give investors a reason to question whether Microsoft’s AI investment is generating returns quickly enough.

The backlog offers another clue. Commercial remaining performance obligations reached $367 billion in Q4, giving Microsoft visibility into future contracted revenue. Investors will want to know whether those commitments are translating into cloud consumption and recurring AI revenue at the pace management expects.

Microsoft’s AI Spending Is Heading Above $50 Billion

The demand story comes with a hefty price tag. Microsoft spent $41 billion on capital expenditures in Q4, up more than 70% year over year, while free cash flow fell 23% to $19.6 billion. Operating cash flow still climbed 30% to $55.4 billion, and net income reached $35.8 billion, showing that the business remained profitable despite the infrastructure bill.

Management expects roughly $50 billion in Q1 capital expenditures following an accounting change involving data-center leases. Microsoft also projected $175 billion in calendar-year 2026 spending, down from its previous $190 billion outlook, while maintaining that demand for AI infrastructure exceeds available supply.

The key distinction is that reported capex can change with lease accounting even when the underlying investment plans remain intact. Investors need to look beyond the headline figure and judge whether additional capacity is producing enough Azure revenue and cash flow to justify the commitments.

Recent developments provide some evidence of where that demand could come from. Microsoft announced a strategic collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to explore AI-powered digital patient twins for clinical development, alongside broader Copilot adoption and data-center modernization. The work could bring Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools deeper into pharmaceutical research, where companies need secure systems to handle complex data and workflows.

That is a concrete commercial use case, although the announcement alone does not establish how much revenue the partnership will generate. The earnings report needs to provide the broader financial evidence.

MSFT Needs to Hold Its Technical Ground

Microsoft’s chart shows a stock that has pulled back from its October highs while retaining a stronger longer-term trend. At $524.51, MSFT sits just below its 20-day moving average near $526.70 but remains above its 50-day average around $508.43 and its 200-day average near $436.51.

The immediate question is whether earnings can help the stock reclaim the $530 area and challenge the recent highs around $545–$550. A strong Azure print, credible spending commentary, and healthy cash generation could give buyers a reason to push back toward that resistance. A disappointment on cloud growth or another jump in spending without clear evidence of returns could leave the stock vulnerable to a deeper pullback toward $508.

Microsoft has already shown that enterprises will commit billions to its cloud and AI ecosystem. What Wednesday’s report must establish is whether that demand can keep growing fast enough to support the infrastructure being built to serve it.

Investors will also be watching Robinhood’s growing prediction markets business, where customers can trade contracts tied to the outcome of specific events. It has already become a meaningful source of revenue.

Wall Street Expects Higher Sales, Lower Earnings

Analysts expect Robinhood’s revenue to rise more than 11% from a year earlier. However, earnings are expected to decline more than 9%. Simply put, Wall Street expects Robinhood to bring in more money but earn less profit. Robinhood’s report should help explain what is behind the expected decline.

Investors will want to know whether higher spending is temporary or likely to continue. They will also want to hear how that spending could help the company make more money later.

For example, investing in a new product can make sense if it attracts customers and eventually produces healthy profits. But shareholders need evidence that the investment is working. That is why management’s outlook could matter just as much as the quarterly results.

Prediction Markets Are Becoming a Bigger Business

One of the biggest areas to watch is Robinhood’s event contracts business. These contracts let customers trade on whether a particular event will happen.

The business generated $156 million in second-quarter revenue, more than Robinhood brought in from either stock trading or cryptocurrency trading during that period. That makes prediction markets much more than a small side business.

In June, Robinhood launched Rothera, an exchange and clearinghouse licensed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It is independently managed through Robinhood’s joint venture with Susquehanna International Group. 

This week, investors will get another look at how the business is developing.

They should watch how many contracts customers trade, how much revenue those trades generate, and what management says about demand.

Repeat business will be especially important. A popular event might bring in customers for a short period. The bigger opportunity is getting those customers to return regularly.

Investors will also want to hear about competition and regulation, both of which could affect how quickly prediction markets grow and how profitable they become.

Don’t Overlook the Rest of Robinhood

Prediction markets may get plenty of attention, but Robinhood still needs its other businesses to perform. Last quarter, options trading revenue rose 29% from a year earlier to $342 million. Stock trading revenue jumped 95% to $129 million. Cryptocurrency revenue, however, fell 38% to $100 million. Those results show why having several sources of revenue matters. When one business slows down, another can help make up the difference.

This quarter, investors should look for signs that growth is coming from more than one area.

Customer activity will also matter. Are people adding money to their accounts? Are they trying additional products? Are they using Robinhood more often?

Rosenblatt analyst Chris Brendler recently started covering Robinhood with a buy rating. His positive view focuses on the company’s expansion beyond commission-free trading into a broader financial platform, including more products and opportunities overseas.

The earnings report will give investors a chance to see how that strategy is progressing.

Strong Results Don’t Always Mean a Higher Stock Price

Robinhood’s earnings history offers a reason to watch expectations closely. Continued growth in prediction markets would be encouraging. And so would stronger customer activity across the platform. But the clearest sign of progress would be a convincing explanation of how the company plans to grow profits alongside revenue. Investors already know the company is adding products. This report needs to show how those products can strengthen the business.

Tesla reports third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, October 21, after the market closes. The company-compiled analyst consensus calls for $28.34 billion in revenue and 45 cents in adjusted EPS. Revenue would be roughly flat year over year, while adjusted earnings would fall from 50 cents a share.

The stakes extend beyond an earnings beat. The company is committing more capital to AI compute, robotaxis, and robotics while investors debate whether its automotive economics can support those ambitions. This quarter needs to show that the core business can keep funding the transition.

Tesla’s Delivery Beat Needs to Reach the Bottom Line

Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in Q3, beating Wall Street’s estimate of approximately 462,000. Deliveries still declined 2.1% year over year from 497,099, according to the company’s Q3 production and delivery report. Production came in at 464,391 vehicles, around 22,000 below deliveries, allowing Tesla to work through inventory.

That is a useful volume result, but Q2 showed how little protection stronger sales provide when margins deteriorate. Revenue increased 26% year over year to $28.24 billion, yet operating income fell 57% to $398 million. Operating margin contracted to 1.4%, while adjusted EBITDA declined 4% to $3.27 billion. Tesla’s Q2 2026  details the pressure from lower average selling prices, reduced regulatory-credit revenue, and higher operating expenses tied partly to AI research and development.

Automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits stood at 16.3% in Q2. With price competition limiting Tesla’s ability to push vehicle prices higher, manufacturing efficiency and product mix carry more weight in the earnings equation.

For Q3, I’m watching automotive gross margin, average selling prices, regulatory-credit revenue, and operating expenses. A delivery beat has already landed. The next catalyst is evidence that Tesla can turn those vehicles into stronger operating income.

The AI Bill Is Getting Bigger

Capital spending reached $5.79 billion in Q2, up 142% year over year. Operating cash flow of $4.70 billion could not cover that outlay, leaving free cash flow at negative $1.09 billion. Cash and investments ended June at $43.52 billion. 

The latest Tesla Q3 analyst consensus projects approximately $7.77 billion in capital expenditures and negative $4.51 billion in free cash flow. For the full year, analysts expect capex of roughly $25.35 billion.

The spending supports Tesla’s expansion into AI compute, autonomous driving, and robotics. During the first half of 2026, the company more than doubled its onsite AI compute capacity in Texas. Cybercab production has begun, robotaxi operations are expanding, and Tesla is installing first-generation Optimus production lines in Fremont. The company also expects Tesla Semi and Megapack 3 production to begin this year. 

These projects could eventually produce higher-margin revenue streams. For now, they require substantial upfront investment. Q3 cash flow and management’s updated spending plans will show how much financial flexibility Tesla retains as it builds those businesses.

Robotaxis Must Earn Their Valuation Premium

Tesla’s bull case increasingly depends on software and autonomous driving becoming meaningful profit centers. Active FSD subscriptions rose 56% year over year to 1.48 million in Q2. Services and Other gross profit also climbed $302 million sequentially to a record $648 million, reaching a 14% gross margin. Those figures provide early evidence of a business extending beyond vehicle sales.

The next earnings call should clarify whether robotaxi deployment is advancing toward scalable commercial operations and whether FSD adoption is translating into recurring revenue. Optimus offers another potential growth avenue, but production milestones alone cannot establish its eventual contribution to earnings.

Meanwhile, speculation around a potential Tesla–SpaceX combination has added another variable to the stock. But keep in mind, any transaction remains speculative, so the company’s operating results should carry more weight than merger chatter.

TSLA Needs to Reclaim Its Trend

TSLA stock closed at $368.06 on October 19, up 3.76%. Its 20-day moving average sits at $369.97, the 50-day at $360.25, and the 200-day at $387.58.

The recovery from July’s low near $300 has improved the chart, but TSLA remains below its 200-day average and a descending trendline from the spring highs. Resistance around $378–$380 comes first, followed by $387–$390. On the downside, $350–$355 is a key support zone near the rising trendline.

Still A Buy…But

My stance is BUY, with profitability and AI execution as the catalysts. Tesla has demonstrated demand resilience, but the next leg higher needs stronger automotive economics and tangible progress toward monetizing AI. Improving margins alongside disciplined spending would strengthen the bull case. If cash burn accelerates while operating profitability remains thin, the stock could struggle to clear overhead resistance.

Analysts expect third-quarter adjusted earnings of roughly 61 cents per share, up from 54 cents per share a year ago, on revenue of approximately $31.65 billion, about 3% growth. AT&T reports Wednesday, October 21, before the market opens, with its conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.

After Q2, those estimates look achievable. The bigger test is whether growth in AT&T’s modern connectivity business can keep funding its transition as the company expands fiber, retires legacy infrastructure, and accelerates share repurchases.

Fiber and Wireless Are Doing the Heavy Lifting

AT&T’s second quarter offered evidence that the strategy is working. Revenue increased 2.3% year over year to $31.6 billion, adjusted EBITDA climbed 5.2% to $12.3 billion, and adjusted EPS reached $0.65 versus $0.54 a year earlier. Operating cash flow rose to $10.8 billion from $9.8 billion, while free cash flow improved to $4.7 billion from $4.4 billion.

Customer growth shows where the momentum is coming from. AT&T added 367,000 fiber internet subscribers, 279,000 fixed-wireless internet subscribers, and 432,000 postpaid phone subscribers. Advanced Connectivity service revenue grew 5.1% to $23.5 billion, and segment EBITDA increased 8% to $12 billion.

The segment is growing faster than AT&T’s consolidated revenue. Its convergence strategy also creates room to deepen customer relationships: 42.5% of households using AT&T’s advanced home internet services also subscribed to its wireless service.

For Q3, subscriber additions, churn, service revenue, and EBITDA will show whether that momentum held through September. Slower customer growth or weaker profitability would challenge the case that AT&T’s investment cycle is producing a durable earnings engine.

The Copper Business Is Shrinking

The transition comes with a drag. Legacy service revenue fell 25.9% in Q2 to $1.63 billion, while legacy operating income and EBITDA declined 45.5% to $523 million. AT&T is winding down its copper network, but the lost revenue and earnings must be absorbed while fiber scales.

Spending and cash flow are critical. AT&T invested $6.1 billion in capital during Q2, including $5.7 billion in capital expenditures. It ended the quarter with $144 billion in total debt and $126.4 billion in net debt. The network build-out supports future growth, but requires substantial capital before new fiber locations deliver their full economic value.

Management maintained its 2026 outlook: adjusted EPS of $2.25 to $2.35, adjusted EBITDA growth of 3% to 4%, and free cash flow of at least $18 billion. Capital investment is expected to total $23 billion to $24 billion for the year.

Management expects Q3 free cash flow to remain relatively stable year over year, followed by strong growth in Q4. A result consistent with that forecast would keep AT&T on track; weaker cash generation could raise doubts about how comfortably it can fund investment and shareholder distributions.

The Buybacks Raise the Stakes

AT&T plans to return more than $45 billion to shareholders over 2026–2028 through dividends and repurchases. It has accelerated its 2026 buyback target to approximately $10 billion while maintaining an annualized dividend of $1.11 per share.

AT&T expects free cash flow of at least $19 billion in 2027 and $21 billion in 2028, creating room for larger shareholder distributions as the investment program matures. But buybacks compete with other demands on the balance sheet. With net debt above $126 billion and annual capital investment of $23 billion to $24 billion, AT&T needs cash generation to cover the dividend, fund the network build-out, and improve leverage.

For this report, I would focus on confirmation of full-year EPS and free-cash-flow guidance, continued growth in Advanced Connectivity profitability, and updates on capital spending and debt. A beat on the $0.61 EPS estimate would help, but strong cash flow and unchanged guidance would provide firmer support for the longer-term thesis.

The Chart Still Needs a Breakout

AT&T closed at $23.22 on October 19, down 0.96% for the session. The stock trades below its 20-day simple moving average at $24.12, its 50-day at $24.92, and its 200-day at $25.10. All three sit overhead, creating resistance as the shares try to recover.

Support around 22–22.30 is the near-term level to watch, near the rising support line from July’s lows. A break below it would put the recent base at risk. Reclaiming $24.12 would be the first sign of improving momentum, followed by the 24.90–25.10 band where the 50-day and 200-day averages converge.

I’m bullish on AT&T’s underlying direction because fiber and wireless are growing faster than the consolidated business, and Q2 showed that growth reaching profitability. But the stock has yet to reflect that progress technically. My BUY thesis depends on AT&T protecting its $18 billion-plus free-cash-flow target while sustaining Advanced Connectivity growth. If Q3 confirms both, investors will have stronger evidence that the network build-out can generate dependable cash returns.

Estimates call for earnings of about 42 cents per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. That would represent roughly double the earnings and approximately 88% revenue growth compared with the same quarter last year. Palantir’s own third-quarter revenue forecast is between $2.160 billion and $2.164 billion. That puts both published revenue estimates above management’s outlook, suggesting analysts are already looking for the company to outperform its guidance.

Analysts Love PLTR Stock Heading into Earnings

Heading into its earnings call, analysts at Barclays have an overweight rating on the stock, noting that it has a competitive moat that allows for growth and respectable margins. The firm also has a price target of $265 a share on Palantir. 

Goldman Sachs also has a buy rating on the stock, with a price target of $230.

According to the firm, as quoted by Seeking Alpha: “The two key debates we hear from investors at Palantir’s current $8B revenue run rate and ~100% growth rate are 1) has the best part of Palantir’s AI opportunity already been realized, or is the market deep enough for another set of higher revisions? And 2) how sustainable is the FDE model? Our primary takeaway from our most recent set of industry conversations is that the stock is setting up for another phase of outperformance into 2027.”

D.A. Davidson also lifted its price target from $200 to $250. The firm sees an opportunity as more customers seek greater control over their AI systems and data, pointing to the company’s ability to help businesses manage both.

“Palantir’s push into data sovereignty is resonating with customers,” said D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, as quoted by Seeking Alpha. “Customers are getting savvier about what AI model they need and how to work with a range of models, and Palantir is capitalizing on that trend. Trust means Palantir is naturally positioned to become the control plane, orchestration layer, and harness provider for a wide range of customers. Palantir is creating those layers for customers and solving the problem of choosing models and managing token costs.”

Can Commercial Customers Keep Driving Palantir’s Growth?

One of the biggest areas to watch is Palantir’s U.S. commercial business, which serves companies rather than government agencies. In the second quarter, U.S. commercial revenue increased 149% from a year earlier. Management raised its full-year forecast for that business to more than $3.424 billion, representing growth of at least 134%. Those figures set a demanding standard for the upcoming report. 

The commercial business may attract much of the attention, but government customers remain important. Palantir’s U.S. government revenue increased 90% to $809 million in the second quarter, according to Reuters. That gives investors another substantial business to watch alongside corporate AI spending.

Profits and the Outlook Could Decide the Reaction

Palantir reported a 62% adjusted operating margin in the second quarter, compared with a 47% margin under standard accounting rules. Its third-quarter guidance calls for adjusted operating income of $1.292 billion to $1.296 billion.

The question is whether the company can maintain strong profitability while hiring, supporting customers, and expanding deployments.

Then comes guidance. Palantir’s existing full-year revenue forecast is $8.150 billion to $8.158 billion. Any revision will help investors judge management’s confidence heading into year-end.

My view is that the most persuasive report would combine a meaningful revenue beat, continued customer expansion, and a stronger outlook.

Ahead of its October 22 earnings report, the question is whether Procter & Gamble can keep shoppers coming back while dealing with higher costs and persistent inflationary pressures.

The maker of Tide, Pampers and Gillette is scheduled to report its first quarter of fiscal 2027 before the opening bell. Its results should offer a useful look at household spending and how much consumers are willing to pay for familiar brands. Analysts expect earnings of $1.89 per share, down about 5% from the same quarter last year. Revenue is projected to reach about $22.7 billion, an increase of 1.4%. 

A small earnings beat would be welcome. But stronger sales trends and a reassuring outlook could carry more weight than a few extra pennies in quarterly profit.

Are Shoppers Buying More?

One number worth watching is sales volume, which measures how much product Procter & Gamble sells.

For this report, improving volume would help demonstrate that P&G’s products remain attractive at current prices. Weak volume, particularly alongside heavier discounts, would raise questions about how much the company must spend to defend its business. Investors should also look for improvement across several product categories. A strong performance from one division is helpful, but broader growth would make the recovery more convincing.

P&G previously estimated that higher raw material, energy, and transportation costs would reduce fiscal 2027 earnings by approximately $1 billion after taxes. That is a substantial obstacle, even for a company of its size.

The connection is straightforward. Making household products requires ingredients, packaging, factory operations, and transportation. When those expenses rise, P&G must absorb the increase, find savings, or charge customers more.

Each Option Has Limits

Raising prices can push shoppers toward competitors. Cutting expenses too aggressively can weaken product development or marketing. Absorbing higher costs leaves less profit from each sale. That makes profit margins especially important. 

Investors will want to see whether productivity improvements are helping offset cost pressures. They should also listen for any change in management’s assumptions about the months ahead.

Even if quarterly earnings meet expectations, a warning that costs are getting worse could overshadow the headline numbers.

P&G entered fiscal 2027 expecting reported and organic sales growth of 1% to 3%, with core earnings between $6.89 and $7.11 per share. Maintaining the outlook would suggest management still believes its plans are achievable. Raising it would provide a stronger signal. A reduction would invite questions about whether weaker demand or higher expenses are becoming more persistent.

Shareholder Payments Remain Part of the Appeal

Procter & Gamble has projected roughly $10 billion in dividends and approximately $5 billion in share repurchases for fiscal 2027. Ultimately, Procter & Gamble doesn’t need spectacular growth to deliver a reassuring report. It needs to show that customers still value its products, cost controls are working, and its annual targets remain realistic. 

For Procter & Gamble, the challenge is convincing shoppers that its brands are worth the money and keeping enough of each sale to grow profits. If the company shows improving demand while keeping its outlook intact, investors may feel more confident. But if customers are pulling back and costs keep climbing, a modest earnings beat may offer little comfort. On October 22, the most encouraging result would be evidence that P&G can grow without asking already stretched shoppers to pay much more.

There are reasons for optimism. American Express delivered double-digit revenue growth last quarter. But growing the business also costs money, and investors will want evidence that those investments are paying off.

Analysts estimate earnings of $4.58 per share on revenue of about $20.12 billion. For comparison, American Express reported earnings of $4.14 per share and revenue of $18.43 billion in the third quarter of 2025. That means the forecasts suggest earnings growth of roughly 8% to 11% and revenue growth of about 9%.

Those would be respectable gains. However, beating the earnings estimate alone may not be enough to impress investors. The market will also consider where that growth came from, how much American Express spent to generate it, and whether management sees stronger momentum ahead.

Are Cardholders Still Spending?

One of the most useful numbers to watch is billed business, which measures spending on American Express cards.

In the second quarter, cardmember spending increased 9%. Management described that as the strongest growth rate in three years. Revenue rose 10% to approximately $19.6 billion, while earnings reached $4.53 per share. The third quarter will show if that momentum continues.

American Express has substantial exposure to higher-income consumers, who generally have more room in their budgets for discretionary purchases. Last quarter, travel and entertainment spending increased 10%, providing another sign that these customers remained active.

Still, investors should look beyond the overall spending figure.

Strength across restaurants, travel, and everyday purchases would suggest broad demand. Growth concentrated in fewer categories would deserve a closer look.

Business spending matters, too. A consumer who keeps booking vacations and a company that reduces employee travel can send very different signals about the economy. Management’s explanation of those trends could be as useful as the headline results.

Premium Cards Bring Opportunity and Costs

American Express wants customers to see its cards as worth paying for year after year. That creates an attractive opportunity: Customers who value the benefits may renew their memberships, use their cards more frequently, and keep the relationship for years.

Last quarter, management said its Platinum portfolio was the fastest-growing part of its U.S. consumer business. It also highlighted continued customer additions among millennials and Generation Z. But benefits and rewards come with a bill.

Second-quarter expenses increased 12% to $14.5 billion, outpacing revenue growth. American Express attributed the increase partly to customer engagement costs, its U.S. Platinum refresh, and greater use of card benefits.

The question is whether those expenses are helping build lasting, profitable relationships. Spending more today can make sense if it attracts customers who generate revenue for years. Investors may become less patient, however, if costs consistently grow faster than the business.

Watch for management’s discussion of marketing spending, customer retention, and the financial returns from its premium offerings.

Guidance Could Decide the Reaction

Investors also need to know whether customers are paying their bills.

American Express reported a second-quarter net write-off rate of 2%, unchanged from a year earlier. This measures loans written off as uncollectible, after recoveries, relative to the relevant balances. For the upcoming report, late payments, write-offs, and provisions for potential credit losses deserve attention. Rising loan balances can support interest income, but that benefit becomes less attractive if repayment problems increase.

Finally, watch the outlook.

In July, American Express raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 10% while maintaining earnings guidance of $17.30 to $17.90 per share. A stronger forecast could help reassure investors that spending growth is producing meaningful financial benefits. 

The company will report third-quarter results on October 21, with its earnings webcast scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern. Shareholders will want to know if IBM is getting back on track.

What Wall Street Expects

Analysts expect IBM to earn an adjusted $2.87 per share on revenue of $16.84 billion. That would represent earnings growth of about 8.3% and revenue growth of 3.1% from a year earlier. Those expectations suggest improvement, but hardly explosive growth.

Still, IBM does not necessarily need a spectacular quarter to make progress with investors. A solid report, evidence that delayed business is coming through, and a dependable outlook could help rebuild confidence. The quality of any earnings beat will matter, too. Higher profits supported by stronger customer demand would carry a different message than a beat driven mainly by lower expenses. Investors should look at revenue and earnings together before deciding how much has improved.

Did the Delayed Deals Finally Close?

One of the most important issues heading into this report is what happened to business IBM expected to complete earlier this year.

In July, CEO Arvind Krishna explained that customers had redirected some spending toward servers, storage, and memory to secure equipment ahead of anticipated price increases. The company also failed to close numerous large deals on schedule, contributing to its second-quarter shortfall. That creates a practical test for the upcoming results.

If those purchases were simply postponed, some of that business should eventually appear in revenue. If delays keep stretching out, investors may question whether the problem goes beyond timing.

There was an encouraging sign during July’s earnings call. Reuters reported that Krishna said approximately one-third of the delayed large capital-spending deals had already closed in the third quarter. Investors will now want to know how much additional progress followed.

A catch-up quarter would be welcome. But management also needs to explain whether new orders are arriving behind those delayed transactions. Collecting previously expected business helps today’s results; attracting additional demand supports tomorrow’s growth.

Software and Consulting Need to Show Progress

IBM’s software business will be another major focus.

Second-quarter software revenue increased 5%, while Red Hat grew 11% and the data business expanded 19%. Those gains offered some encouragement during an otherwise difficult quarter. Consulting revenue, meanwhile, was essentially unchanged at $5.3 billion.

For investors, the next question is whether that software strength can become broader and more durable. Businesses experimenting with AI eventually have to make decisions about budgets, deployment, and ongoing support. IBM’s opportunity is to turn those decisions into paying relationships that last beyond an initial project.

That is why commentary about actual customer spending matters more than another round of enthusiasm about AI’s potential.

The Outlook Could Matter Most

Even if IBM beats quarterly estimates, management’s forecast could determine how investors interpret the report. In July, the company lowered its full-year revenue growth expectation to 4% to 5%. It maintained its expectation that annual free cash flow would increase by about $1 billion.

That cash outlook is worth watching closely.

Investors also want evidence that the business is producing cash. A maintained forecast would provide some reassurance. Strong results accompanied by greater confidence in demand would be more persuasive. Another reduction, however, would make it harder to argue that the earlier weakness was temporary.

For IBM shareholders, October 21 is an opportunity to get clearer answers. 

Are delayed orders turning into sales? Is software growth strengthening? Can consulting contribute more? IBM does not need to solve every challenge in one quarter. But it does need to demonstrate progress that investors can measure. After July’s disappointment, a clear explanation backed by stronger execution could do more for confidence than another ambitious promise about the future.

There is plenty to watch. Cloud growth has accelerated, but building the infrastructure behind that growth is expensive. Meanwhile, Google still needs to show that its search business can keep attracting users and advertisers as AI changes how people find information.

Estimates call for earnings of $3.02 per share on revenue of $127.67 billion. That compares with earnings of $2.87 per share and revenue of $102.35 billion a year earlier, implying roughly 5% earnings growth and 25% revenue growth. 

Google Cloud Has a Lot to Prove

Google Cloud could be the biggest focus of the report. In the second quarter, Cloud revenue climbed 82% to about $24.8 billion. Alphabet also began recognizing revenue from sales of its tensor processing unit systems, or TPUs, which are specialized chips used for AI workloads.

That momentum has some analysts raising their expectations. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth now expects third-quarter Cloud revenue to double from a year earlier, according to Barron’s. He also raised his Alphabet price target to $425 from $420, citing greater contributions from TPU sales. 

For investors, the distinction matters. Strong growth can become harder to impress with when expectations are rising just as quickly. The quality of that growth deserves attention, too. Investors should look for management to explain how much comes from ongoing cloud usage, how much comes from hardware sales, and what that mix means for profitability. 

Search Still Pays Much of the Bills

Cloud may attract the excitement, but Google Search remains central to Alphabet’s financial health. Second-quarter revenue from Google Search and related activities reached about $63.3 billion, up from $54.2 billion a year earlier. YouTube advertising revenue also increased, reaching about $11.1 billion.

The next report should help investors assess whether that advertising momentum is holding up.

The key question is how effectively Google can turn changing search habits into revenue. AI-generated answers may make the service more useful, but usefulness alone does not tell investors how much advertisers will pay or how profitable those interactions will become.

I would watch for management’s comments on search activity, advertiser demand, and the economics of AI-powered features.

YouTube also deserves attention. Its results can help show whether advertising strength extends beyond Search. Broad growth across both businesses would provide more reassurance than a strong result concentrated in just one area.

The Spending Bill Could Shape the Reaction

Alphabet previously raised its 2026 capital spending outlook to $195 billion to $205 billion. Management also said spending would increase significantly in 2027. Second-quarter free cash flow was negative as infrastructure investment absorbed more than the cash generated by operations.

That creates a practical challenge: Alphabet needs capacity to meet demand, but shareholders also want evidence that the investment will produce attractive returns. 

Watch for changes to the spending outlook, progress in cash generation, and commentary on future costs. A revenue beat could lose some shine if it comes with another spending increase and little explanation of the payoff.

Ultimately, this earnings report needs to connect growth with financial discipline. Strong Cloud demand, healthy advertising, and a convincing explanation of infrastructure spending would strengthen Alphabet’s case. Investors do not need every AI investment to pay off immediately. But they do need to see that the company is moving toward durable profits and stronger cash flow. On October 28, that progress may matter more than the headline earnings number.