As AI rally wobbles, stock market’s spotlight turns to earnings
The upcoming week of quarterly reports includes semiconductor companies Lam Research and Texas Instruments
Published Sun, Oct 18, 2026 · 10:05 PM
[NEW YORK] Stumbles in the market-leading artificial intelligence trade are set to test investor confidence in the rally in the coming week, as Wall Street focuses on quarterly results due from key players including Meta Platforms.
AI-linked stocks, central to the bull market that just marked its fourth anniversary, struggled in recent days, with sharp declines in shares of semiconductor companies and tech hardware companies such as Dell Technologies.
Meta, among the hyperscalers spending massively to build AI data centres, is a highlight of the upcoming week of quarterly reports, along with semiconductor companies Lam Research, Texas Instruments and Elon Musk-led companies SpaceX and Tesla.
“It certainly feels like the narrative in the market is a little bit jittery,” said Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist with Natixis Investment Managers Solutions. “Clearly, there’s a lot of uncertainty around where AI stands right now.”
Worries rippled through markets over risks tied to the financing of the AI build-out boom, which has lifted profits for a wide swath of companies and boosted economic growth.
Investors were watching developments with CoreWeave, an AI cloud company with about US$50 billion in debt. This week, its shares tumbled.
In other recent signs of caution, strategists at Deutsche Bank and RBC Capital Markets separately pulled back on their recommendations of the tech sector. On Oct 9, Deutsche Bank strategists said the rotation into tech had “run far, and the risk-reward no longer looks favourable in the near term”.
Dragged down by the swoon in heavyweight tech and AI stocks, the S&P 500 posted its biggest weekly drop since June. But the benchmark index was only about 2 per cent below its record high set in October.
Other sectors, which lagged as tech shined in September, posted solid gains on the week, including healthcare and consumer staples.
“This is very much an on-off switch type of market,” Melson said. “When AI is working, it sucks all the oxygen out of the room for the rest of the sectors.”
Meta kicks off hyperscaler results
US reporting season heats up next week, with investors counting on robust performance. S&P 500 companies are expected to have increased earnings by more than 30 per cent in the third quarter, said the London Stock Exchange Group’s Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System.
Massive outlays on AI data centres and infrastructure underpin the profit jump.
Meta is one of five AI hyperscalers that combined are expected to increase their capital spending to about US$1.2 trillion in 2027, said Goldman Sachs. Investors are eager for signs the companies can show returns on the investments, which would build confidence that the spending is sustainable.
“One of the most important takeaways of earnings season is whether or not the profitability of the hyperscalers can grow faster than the pace of their capex,” said Kevin Shea, senior equity analyst at BNY Wealth.
Shares of Meta, the market capitalisation of which was about US$1.8 trillion, have risen in recent weeks, as it launched its Muse AI assistant.
“With the cost of capital going up, this capex blowout is going to become more expensive, which raises the bar for returns,” said Chuck Carlson, CEO at Horizon Investment Services. “Meta is going to be the first up to try to provide some colour around that question.”
Semis, Tesla, Netflix also on tap
Chip companies have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the capital spending boom, but the stocks have cooled off.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index has slumped about 12 per cent in October, although it remained up 57 per cent on the year, compared with a roughly 12 per cent year-to-date gain for the S&P 500.
Wednesday’s (Oct 21) reports from Lam Research and Texas Instruments could offer broader indications of demand in the semiconductor industry. Lam Research shares are up 54 per cent in 2026, while Texas Instruments stock is up 59 per cent.
Elsewhere, investors will focus on results from Musk-run companies with market values well over US$1 trillion: SpaceX – the newly public space company that also has an AI business – and Tesla, another signature stock of the tech-driven bull market.
Streaming company Netflix, consumer products company Procter & Gamble and engine maker GE Aerospace are among other high-profile reports in the coming week.
The rise in US Treasury yields and prospects for further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve also remain front-burner issues for stock investors.
Hot inflation data this week boosted bets on another rate increase at the Fed’s meeting at the end of October. Futures pricing suggested most investors still expect the US central bank to wait until its meeting in December to raise rates for a second time in 2026.
“Another strong earnings season should help equities withstand moderately higher rates,” analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management said on Thursday. REUTERS
