EconoTicker

SanDisk (SNDK), the American data storage and flash memory technology company, reported EPS of 23.41, above the forecast of 14.66, producing an EPS surprise of +59.69%. Revenue reached 5.95B, above the forecast of 4.73B, with a revenue surprise of +25.79%. With a market cap of 161.85B, the stock last traded at 1,096.51, up +3.04%, while extended-hours trading fell to 1,028.54, down -6.20%. The report shows major outperformance in profitability and revenue, but after-hours trading was negative.

Possible Market Effect:

The large double beat supports SNDK fundamentals, but the sharp after-hours decline suggests investors may be focused on memory-cycle guidance or valuation risk.

Source: Earnings calendar data

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), the American pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company, reported EPS of 1.58, above the forecast of 1.42, producing an EPS surprise of +11.27%. Revenue reached 11.49B, above the forecast of 10.92B, with a revenue surprise of +5.22%. With a market cap of 123.71B, the stock last traded at 60.59, up +5.21%, while extended-hours trading slipped to 60.57, down -0.03%. The report shows stronger profitability and revenue.

Possible Market Effect:

The double beat and strong regular-session gain may support BMY sentiment, although the flat after-hours move suggests limited additional repricing.

Source: Earnings calendar data

eBay (EBAY), the American e-commerce marketplace company, reported EPS of 1.66, above the forecast of 1.58, producing an EPS surprise of +5.06%. Revenue reached 3.1B, above the forecast of 3.04B, with a revenue surprise of +1.97%. With a market cap of 46.5B, the stock last traded at 103.79, up +3.42%, while extended-hours trading declined to 100.17, down -3.43%. The report shows stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue, but the after-hours reaction was negative.

Possible Market Effect:

The double beat supports the fundamental read-through, but the -3.43% extended-hours decline suggests investors may be focused on guidance, marketplace volume, or valuation.

Source: Earnings calendar data

Qualcomm (QCOM), the American semiconductor, wireless technology, and mobile chipset company, reported EPS of 2.65, above the forecast of 2.55, producing an EPS surprise of +3.92%. Revenue reached 10.6B, above the forecast of 10.58B, with a revenue surprise of +0.19%. With a market cap of 166.45B, the stock last traded at 156.00, up +4.00%, while extended-hours trading jumped to 174.70, up +11.99%. The report shows stronger profitability and a small revenue beat.

Possible Market Effect:

The EPS beat and +11.99% extended-hours jump may support a strong positive repricing in QCOM shares.

Source: Earnings calendar data

AstraZeneca (AZN), the United Kingdom-origin biopharmaceutical company traded in the U.S. market, reported EPS of 2.58, above the forecast of 2.52, producing an EPS surprise of +2.38%. Revenue came in at 15.29B, above the forecast of 14.9B, with a revenue surprise of +2.62%. With a market cap of 286.41B, the stock last traded at 185.29, down -0.74%, while extended-hours trading slipped to 185.20, down -0.05%. The report shows stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue.

Possible Market Effect:

The double beat supports the fundamental read-through, but the negative price reaction suggests limited immediate upside.

Source: Earnings calendar data

Asian equities traded mostly lower as Brent crude moved to a four-year high, the Fed sounded cautious on inflation risks, and investors weighed mixed signals from U.S. mega-cap technology earnings. MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index outside Japan fell 1%, while Reuters reported that Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2%. Updated LSEG market data showed the Nikkei 225 at 59,247.35, down 670.11 points or 1.12%, the Hang Seng at 25,789.59, down 322.25 points or 1.23%, and the Shanghai Composite at 4,111.02, up 3.50 points or 0.09%.

Japan’s broader TOPIX also weakened, with Investing.com showing the index near 3,713.72, after opening at 3,742.25. In South Korea, the KOSPI hit a fresh record high of 6,750.27 earlier in the session after Samsung’s record results, but later reversed lower; Investing.com showed the index around 6,607.26–6,607.61 after opening at 6,739.39.

Elsewhere, India’s Nifty 50 fell sharply, with Investing.com data showing 23,812.00, down 365.65 points or 1.51%, while Nifty futures traded at 23,873.00, down 379.00 points or 1.56%. Singapore outperformed, with Trading Economics showing the Straits Times Index near 4,905, up 0.91%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell to about 8,656, down 0.4% as oil and inflation concerns weighed on sentiment.

Possible Market Effect:

The regional selloff shows that higher oil prices and hawkish central-bank signals are overpowering the positive impact from AI-linked earnings. Samsung’s strong results may keep support under Korean semiconductor names, but the broader Asian equity tone remains vulnerable to oil-driven inflation, U.S.-Iran headlines, Fed guidance, and profit-taking after April’s sharp gains.

Source: Reuters; LSEG market data; Investing.com; Trading Economics; The Australian

Meta Platforms, the American social media, advertising, and artificial intelligence company, reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, but the report also reinforced concerns over the scale of AI spending by hyperscalers. Industry-wide hyperscaler capital expenditure is expected to exceed $700 billion this year, keeping investors focused on whether AI infrastructure investment can translate into durable returns.

Meta earned $10.44 per share on revenue of $56.31 billion in Q1 2026, beating analyst expectations for $6.65 in EPS and $55.52 billion in revenue. EPS was boosted by an $8.03 billion income tax benefit recognized during the quarter. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company had a “milestone quarter,” supported by strong momentum across its apps and the first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs.

Users across Meta’s family of apps increased 4% YoY to an average of 3.56 billion in March, although the figure declined quarter-over-quarter due to internet disruptions in Iran and restricted WhatsApp access in Russia.

Meta raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $125 billion–$145 billion, above the previous $115 billion–$135 billion range and above the Street expectation of $125.26 billion compiled by Jefferies. The company also warned that legal and regulatory issues in the EU and U.S. could significantly affect business and financial results.

Possible Market Effect:

Meta’s earnings beat supports mega-cap technology sentiment, but the higher CapEx outlook may keep pressure on AI-linked stocks if investors question the timing of returns from infrastructure spending. The report may also intensify scrutiny of hyperscaler free cash flow, margins, and regulatory exposure.

Source: Meta Platforms Q1 2026 Earnings Release; Jefferies / Wall Street consensus data

Samsung Electronics, the South Korean technology, memory-chip, smartphone, and consumer electronics giant, reported a record first quarter as AI-driven demand for memory chips lifted prices, margins, and chip profitability. The company posted KRW 133.9 trillion in revenue and KRW 57.2 trillion in operating profit, both all-time quarterly highs. Samsung’s Device Solutions division generated KRW 81.7 trillion in revenue and KRW 53.7 trillion in operating profit, making semiconductors the clear profit engine of the quarter.

Operating profit jumped more than eightfold from a year earlier and beat the Reuters/LSEG estimate of KRW 55.28 trillion. Revenue rose 69% YoY, supported by strong demand for AI servers, data centers, DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth memory products. Samsung also said it started mass-product sales of HBM4 and SOCAMM2 for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform and expects AI infrastructure demand to remain strong in Q2.

Samsung shares were mixed after the report. Latest available market quotes showed the stock around KRW 224,500, down 0.66%, while Reuters-linked reporting said shares had slipped 0.2% after rising as much as 1.8% earlier. The stock remains one of 2026’s major AI winners, with Reuters/CNA reporting it has surged about 88% year-to-date.

Possible Market Effect:

Samsung’s results are strongly supportive for the AI-memory and semiconductor cycle, especially HBM suppliers and AI data-center infrastructure names. However, the muted share reaction suggests some investors may already have priced in the AI boom, making future guidance, Nvidia supply contracts, and memory-chip pricing the key drivers from here.

Source: Samsung Electronics; Reuters/LSEG; market data

Amazon.com, the American e-commerce, cloud computing, advertising, and technology company, reported record quarterly profits, but its shares fell 2.6% after-hours as investors focused on a sharp increase in infrastructure spending.

The company posted earnings per share of $2.78, far above the $1.63 analyst consensus, beating expectations by $1.15, or about 70.6%. Revenue reached $181.5 billion, ahead of the $177.13 billion estimate by $4.37 billion, or about 2.5%.

Amazon Web Services was the key positive driver, with AWS revenue growth accelerating to 28%, its fastest growth in 15 quarters. CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon’s chips business reached a revenue run rate above $20 billion, growing triple digits year-over-year, while Advertising exceeded $70 billion in trailing-12-month revenue and Stores unit growth reached 15%.

However, investors reacted cautiously to the spending side. Amazon reported record operating income of $23.9 billion, but trailing-12-month free cash flow fell to $1.2 billion, mainly due to a $59.3 billion year-over-year increase in property and equipment purchases. In the first quarter alone, property and equipment purchases surged to $44.2 billion, up nearly 77% from $25.0 billion a year earlier.

Possible Market Effect:

Amazon’s earnings and AWS acceleration are supportive for mega-cap technology and AI infrastructure sentiment. However, the after-hours decline shows investors remain sensitive to heavy capital spending, especially as markets question whether AI-related infrastructure investment can convert into durable free cash flow.

Source: Amazon Q1 2026 Earnings Release; InvestingPro / Wall Street consensus data

Alphabet, the American technology and internet services company, reported first-quarter results far above Wall Street expectations, supported by strong growth in Google Cloud, Search, YouTube and AI-linked services. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $5.11, well above the $2.62 analyst consensus. Revenue reached $109.9 billion, beating the $106.81 billion estimate and rising 22% YoY, or 19% in constant currency. This marked Alphabet’s 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

By 04:35 ET, GOOGL shares were up 4.1%, as investors reacted positively to the company’s AI-driven growth. Google Cloud revenue surged 63% to $20 billion, helped by enterprise AI solutions, AI infrastructure and core Google Cloud Platform services. Cloud backlog nearly doubled quarter-over-quarter to more than $460 billion.

Google Services revenue rose 16% to $89.6 billion. Within that segment, Google Search & other grew 19%, YouTube ads rose 11%, and subscriptions, platforms and devices increased 19%. Operating margin expanded by 2 percentage points to 36.1%, while net income jumped 81%, boosted by a $37.7 billion net gain mainly from unrealized gains on non-marketable equity securities.

Alphabet also reported 350 million total paid subscriptions, driven by YouTube and Google One, while Gemini Enterprise paid monthly active users grew 40% QoQ. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to $0.22 per share.

Possible Market Effect:

Alphabet’s strong results may support broader AI and mega-cap technology sentiment, especially across cloud infrastructure, digital advertising and enterprise AI names. However, investors will likely focus on second-quarter commentary around ad momentum, cloud demand and capital spending to judge whether the rally can continue.

Source: Alphabet Q1 2026 Earnings Release; BofA analyst commentary

Standard Chartered, the UK-listed global banking group focused on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, reported a record first-quarter profit, supported by strong growth in wealth management and investment banking despite higher provisions linked to geopolitical risks.

Operating income rose 9% YoY on a constant-currency basis to $5.9 billion. Profit before tax increased 17% to $2.45 billion, while net profit attributable to shareholders climbed 19% to $1.9 billion. Growth was led by Wealth Solutions, where income jumped 32%, while Global Banking income rose 19% on stronger deal origination and capital markets activity.

Net interest income edged up 1% to $2.9 billion, while non-interest income rose 16%, showing stronger momentum in fee-based businesses. Credit impairment charges increased to $296 million, up $79 million from a year earlier, mainly due to precautionary overlays tied to Middle East tensions. Return on tangible equity improved to 17.4% from 14.8%, while the CET1 ratio stood at 13.4%.

Standard Chartered kept its 2026 guidance unchanged, expecting operating income growth at the lower end of the 5%–7% range on a constant-currency basis, with net interest income broadly flat.

Possible Market Effect:

The record profit and strong wealth-management performance may support sentiment toward Standard Chartered shares and broader European banking stocks. However, higher impairment charges linked to geopolitical risk could keep investors focused on exposure to the Middle East and credit quality.

Source: Standard Chartered Q1 2026 Earnings Release

A broadly positive start to the U.S. earnings season has helped investors look beyond the Middle East conflict and persistent geopolitical uncertainty. With just over a third of the S&P 500 reporting so far, 81% of companies have beaten estimates, showing that corporate profitability has remained broadly resilient despite war-related headwinds, higher oil prices, and cautious risk sentiment.

The early earnings performance suggests that large U.S. companies are still managing cost pressures and revenue expectations better than feared, giving traders a reason to stay focused on fundamentals rather than geopolitics alone.

Importance Level: Medium

Possible Market Effect:

A high earnings beat rate may support U.S. equities, especially if guidance remains stable. However, markets could become more selective if higher oil prices, Fed uncertainty, or AI-spending doubts begin to pressure margins later in the season.

Source: S&P 500 company earnings reports; Wall Street consensus data