Tech Giants Lead Pack of 270 US Companies Reporting Q1 Earnings Today

US Stock Market Earnings: Event-Heavy Day Ahead

US stock markets are in for an event-heavy day on Wednesday, 29 April, as four of the Magnificent 7 stocks are set to post their March quarter results. The US Federal Reserve's policy outcome will also be a major focus point later in the day.

Among the mega-caps slated to report January-March quarter results are Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. These companies, along with 265 others, will post their quarterly earnings. The results announcement will be released after the US stock market closes.

These four tech companies together account for over $1.1 trillion in market capitalization. Investors will be closely watching the high AI spending and whether it has driven enough growth in cloud computing and advertising to justify the cost. The recent rally has been largely driven by these Big Tech companies, and their earnings could determine whether momentum continues.

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AI Spending: A Key Focus Point

According to a Reuters report, four major tech companies are set to invest roughly $600 billion in AI this year, an unprecedented spending surge that has strained cash flows and raised concerns on Wall Street. Despite this, their stock prices have largely remained supported by expectations of long-term gains.

Cloud Growth Projections

Growth across their cloud divisions is projected to tick up slightly in the January–March quarter. Amazon Web Services is expected to grow 25%, Microsoft Azure around 40%, and Google Cloud about 50.1%, compared with 23.6%, 39%, and 47.8% in the previous quarter, according to Visible Alpha and LSEG data quoted by Reuters.

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Revenue Growth Projections

Revenue growth overall remains strong. Alphabet's sales are forecast to climb 18.7% to $107.06 billion, Amazon's to rise 13.9% to $177.30 billion, and Microsoft's to increase 16.2% to $81.39 billion. Meta is expected to deliver the strongest growth, with revenue jumping 31% to $55.45 billion—its fastest pace in over four years—driven by improved ad targeting from AI investments and its solid position in the digital advertising market.

Pre-Earnings Share Price Trend

Ahead of earnings, the share price trend was mixed. Amazon and Alphabet Inc shares added 1% and 0.5%, respectively. On the flip side, Meta and Microsoft stocks were down up to 1%. Wall Street's main indexes opened lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.56%, the S&P 500 losing 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite losing 0.17%.

Federal Reserve Policy Outcome

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%-3.75% when its meeting concludes today. With no fresh economic projections or dot plot to guide markets, attention will shift to Chair Jerome Powell's tone and the statement's language, according to experts.