AI Spending Tests Await Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon Earnings This Week

Big Tech earnings take centre stage this week as Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all publish quarterly reports.

Google Cloud expanded 82% in the companies’ most recent quarters, Azure 42% and Amazon Web Services (AWS) 37%, with each business devoting large sums to AI infrastructure.

Microsoft and Alphabet are scheduled for Wednesday, a few hours after the Federal Reserve’s rate decision lands at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Amazon will follow on Thursday.

Microsoft’s Azure Has a 45% Growth Target to Meet

Microsoft will post its results on Wednesday, October 28, after the closing bell, for the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year.

• Analyst consensus from ChartRow puts earnings per share (EPS) at $4.71, compared with $4.13 a year earlier.
• A MarketBeat estimate puts revenue at $90.63 billion, up from $77.67 billion a year earlier.
• Shares climbed 15.0% in the wake of the July report, when EPS came in at $4.74 versus the $4.21 expectation.

In September, Microsoft adopted a two-segment structure and began reporting Azure as a standalone revenue line. On that restated basis, Azure grew 42% to $29.42 billion in the June quarter.

Microsoft’s guidance for the current quarter puts Azure growth at 44% to 45% in constant currency. Capital spending, the company says, should exceed $50 billion.

Goldman Sachs’ Gabriela Borges said Microsoft now has more control over the variables within its capex plans, leaving it with flexibility. Borges expects investors to concentrate on Azure’s unit economics and return on invested capital.

The July rally broke a losing streak. Each of the three prior reports had been followed by a drop in Microsoft’s stock, even though all three beat forecasts. Friday’s close put the shares at $524.51, up 8.5% in 2026.

Alphabet’s July Beat Wasn’t Enough to Halt the Slide

Alphabet goes later on the same evening, holding its call at 4:30 p.m. ET.

• Analyst consensus from ChartRow has Alphabet earnings per share at $2.94, against $2.87 a year earlier.
• Revenue is seen at $127.92 billion, compared with $102.35 billion a year earlier, per MarketBeat.
• After the July report, Alphabet shares were down 7.1%, even though EPS of $9.11 beat the $2.88 estimate.

That EPS was more than triple the estimate, and the shares still declined. With the current $2.94 forecast close to last year’s $2.87, analysts do not seem to be counting on an encore.

In the second quarter, Alphabet’s revenue came in at $119.8 billion, up 24.2%, with Google Cloud up 82% to $24.8 billion. Capex reached $44.9 billion in that period, pushing free cash flow to negative $5.9 billion. In July, Alphabet also raised its 2026 capex guidance to between $195 billion and $205 billion.

Goldman Sachs’ Eric Sheridan said investor worries have centred on Search revenue growth. Missing so far, he said, is a formal consumer AI agent launch.

Sheridan still counts Alphabet’s AI models, Google Cloud and consumer apps as potential catalysts, and the shares remain on Goldman’s buy list.

Alphabet shares closed at $320.21 on Friday, up 2.3% in 2026 — the smallest gain among the three.

Amazon Reports After AWS’s Fastest Quarter in Years

Thursday, October 29, is when Amazon brings the week to an end, publishing its results after trading stops.

• Analyst consensus from ChartRow has Amazon EPS at $2.01, versus $1.95 a year earlier.
• Revenue is estimated at $202.16 billion, up from $180.17 billion a year earlier, per MarketBeat.
• A 15.3% advance for Amazon’s stock followed the July report, when $1.88 EPS came in above the $1.83 estimate.

In Q2, AWS revenue was up 37% at $42.2 billion, its quickest increase since late 2021. One analyst cited by Benzinga put the current quarter’s AWS growth consensus at 38%, while the analyst’s own expectation is 43% to 45%.

That growth has come alongside a larger spending plan. In July, the company raised its 2026 capital spending projection to roughly $220 billion, up from $200 billion. Second-quarter capex reached $54.2 billion, up from $32.1 billion a year earlier.

Even that level, CEO Andy Jassy said, would leave Amazon without enough capacity to cover all of this year’s demand. That spending pushed trailing 12-month free cash flow to negative $7.6 billion. Amazon also unveiled a $25 billion bond sale in July, partly for AI capex.

For Q3, Amazon has projected $197 billion to $202 billion in revenue. The revenue consensus sits just above the range’s top end.

The $5.75 GAAP EPS Amazon reported in July included $53.4 billion in pre-tax income, much of it tied to its Anthropic stake. Investment gains can therefore move the company’s headline profit.

Amazon shares finished at $248.00 on Friday, up 7.4% in 2026.

AI investment at this scale affects more than just the three companies’ shareholders. Moody’s sees sector capex reaching as much as $785 billion in 2026 and close to $1 trillion in 2027. Debt sold by hyperscalers this year is running near $175 billion, versus a five-year average of $30 billion.

The S&P 500 has risen more than 11% this year, and all three stocks sit behind it, according to CNBC. Cloud growth ranged between 37% and 82% in their latest quarters. It will fall to this week’s earnings to show whether the pace endured as spending continued upward.