Apple’s Projected iPhone Revenue Surge Takes Center Stage in Critical Tech Earnings Week

2026-01-26 companies

New York, Sunday, 25 January 2026.
Amid scrutiny over AI spending, Apple anchors a pivotal earnings week with analysts projecting a notable 13 percent year-over-year surge in iPhone revenue.

The Artificial Intelligence Profitability Test

As investors navigate the upcoming trading sessions, the spotlight falls intensely on the “Magnificent Seven” technology giants—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla—whose performance has dictated market trends for the past three years [2]. While these industry titans drove equities higher through much of the last cycle, the narrative shifted at the close of 2025, with Wall Street exhibiting growing skepticism regarding the return on investment for the hundreds of billions of dollars allocated to artificial intelligence development [2]. This earnings season represents a critical juncture for the AI trade, as the market looks to determine whether the heavy capital expenditures are translating into tangible profitability or if the momentum has begun to falter [3]. The stakes are high; after a period of dominance, the collective trajectory of these mega-cap tech names reversed recently, raising questions about whether the strategy of backing AI-centric stocks remains viable for 2026 [2].

Key Forecasts: Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla

The reporting calendar for the week is packed with heavyweights that will offer concrete data points on the state of the technology sector [1]. Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to release its figures on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, with analysts forecasting revenue of $80.23 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $3.93 [6]. Meta Platforms (META) is also on the docket, with expectations set at $58.35 billion in revenue and an EPS of $8.19, while Tesla (TSLA) is projected to report revenue of $24.78 billion with an EPS of roughly $0.45 [6]. These disclosures will likely serve as a litmus test for the broader sector, particularly as investors scrutinize whether the “Magnificent Seven” can justify their elevated valuation multiples in an environment where the market is beginning to broaden beyond just a handful of winners [3][5].

Broader Economic Indicators and Market Health

Beyond the technology sector, this week offers a comprehensive look at the corporate economic landscape, with 103 companies from the S&P 500 scheduled to report earnings [4]. This slate includes traditional economic bellwethers such as Boeing (BA), Visa (V), and General Motors (GM), providing a counterbalance to the tech-centric narrative [1]. The backdrop for these reports is a corporate environment that has shown resilience; the S&P 500 index is currently marking its tenth straight quarter of expansion, with fourth-quarter 2025 earnings growth estimated at 8.2 percent [5]. However, this growth rate slightly trails the 8.3 percent expectation set by analysts, a divergence of -0.1 percentage points that suggests a marginally more challenging environment than anticipated [4]. Furthermore, macroeconomic concerns persist, with prediction markets indicating a 22 percent probability of a U.S. recession in 2026, adding a layer of urgency to the forward-looking guidance these companies will provide [4].

Sources

Quarterly Earnings Technology Sector