Story perspectives

Big Tech Earnings Week Forecast 19% Growth, Rally Priced In

4/28/2026

Summary

FAANG Earnings

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple will report earnings on April 29-30; together they hold about $16 trillion—one-quarter of the S&P 500’s market cap—in a week analysts deem critical for the rally.
Bloomberg Intelligence projects five firms’ Q1 earnings to rise 19% YoY, versus a 12% growth forecast for the rest of the index.
Options traders price an implied move of 2.7% for the five names, suggesting the rally is largely priced in.

Summary

Intel Jumps

Microsoft shares slipped after the OpenAI alliance became non-exclusive and revenue-share payments ended.
Qualcomm rose after analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported OpenAI’s 2028 chip partnership with MediaTek.
Intel jumped 23.65% on guidance, sending the semiconductor index to 18th advance.
Brent crude rose 2.44% to $107.90 as U.S.–Iran talks stalled, while a Reuters poll expects the Federal Reserve to hold rates and Kevin Warsh (Fed nominee) to be Fed chair by June.

Summary

Meta Cuts

Meta will cut nearly 8,000 jobs, about 10% of staff, starting May 20 for AI efficiency.
Citi analysts raised Alphabet’s price target to $405 from $390 on AI growth optimism.
Options markets price up to 5% swings in Google shares before the earnings week.
Apple investors weigh Tim Cook’s recent CEO transition impact on the company’s strategy.
Amazon’s Anthropic investment intensifies AI competition and focus on data-center and chip capacity.

History

Historical Context

The late-1990s dot-com boom saw the Nasdaq Composite surge 85.6 % in 1999, reaching a peak of 5,048.62 on March 10 2000 as investors poured capital into firms like Amazon and Microsoft. That speculative surge, driven by easy venture funding and low interest rates, mirrors today’s AI-driven hype, prompting analysts to watch similar valuation swings.

1 of 4

FAANG Earnings

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple will report earnings on April 29-30; together they hold about $16 trillion—one-quarter of the S&P 500’s market cap—in a week analysts deem critical for the rally.
Bloomberg Intelligence projects five firms’ Q1 earnings to rise 19% YoY, versus a 12% growth forecast for the rest of the index.
Options traders price an implied move of 2.7% for the five names, suggesting the rally is largely priced in.

1 / 4