AI drove a lot of the news cycle last week. It could do the same in the week ahead. Investors are likely still digesting the paperwork Anthropic filed ahead of its IPO. Several tech giants reported, too, and not all of their results were well-received by investors. Now we’ll be watching for insights about how AI fits into Apple’s vision and broader strategy when John Ternus attends his first earnings call as the iPhone maker’s CEO—in the context of a tech selloff to close last week. Ternus took the top job shortly after Apple had its strongest April-to-June quarter. He oversaw the release of new phone and watch models this September, as well as last month’s launch of a foldable iPhone that has reportedly been prone to cracking.
How much momentum the AI buildout still has may become clearer as companies that produce servers, chips, and other components for data centers publish their latest quarterly results. Companies slated to report this week include Supermicro, Advanced Micro Devices, Onsemi, Arm Holdings, and Lumentum Holdings. Shopify, which recently announced a partnership with Meta’s Muse AI, will also hand in its numbers, as will data analytics company Palantir. Quarterly results from Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart—the latter two firms agreed to merge last week—will round out reports from the tech sector.
There’s economic data to watch this week, too: October job numbers are due Friday. Job creation was weak in September, and the government downwardly revised August and July figures, suggesting the labor market may be more fragile than economists realized. Friday’s report may influence whether the Central Bank increases interest rates in December, as expected.
What analysts are saying about U.S. stocks
JPMorgan: “The potential for a geopolitical re-escalation after midterms is elevated, which could lead to a bout of market weakness and a fresh spike in oil price. If the restart of the conflict does come through, we do not think it will be prolonged; it will likely end up as another dip to buy, like all geopolitics-driven dips we saw since March. Nevertheless, as investor sentiment is already very fragile, the risk of renewed escalation remains a big wild card over the next few weeks, one way or the other.”
Morgan Stanley: “We think the correction that began months ago is in its final phase, with the S&P 500 catching down as breadth improves, consistent with our call. We expect near-term clearing events to provide an attractive opportunity to add risk to quality cyclicals that have de-rated as we head into 2027.”
Evercore ISI: “As an investor (whose household ownership of equities is at all-time highs), free and fair elections are a part of the appeal of the U.S. as the world’s premier destination for capital. There have been two elections this century, 2020 and 2000, where doubt was cast on the outcome. The Fed is likely to hike on 12/9, WTI is above $100/bbl., 2/10 is flattening, and hyperscalers need to raise capital to finance $1.3T in 2027 Capex. Capital markets strain 4 years into an aging bull. Against this backdrop, stocks are likely to come under pressure if doubt is cast on the outcome(s).”
RBC Capital Markets: “U.S. equity investors have assumed policy risk is low coming out of the midterms. While the commitment to bipartisanship we heard in the Senate videos may very well end up being little more than empty campaign promises or well-intentioned pledges that run into the hard realities of the legislative process in Washington and a presidential veto, we’ve heard and seen enough to think investors need to monitor policy dynamics around several sectors going forward. Health care, tech, consumer, utilities, and energy seem particularly at the intersection of some of these debates.”