New York, New York | July 21, 2026
Semiconductor stocks recovered all of last week’s losses in just one day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 5% on Tuesday, and the Nasdaq climbs Big Tech earnings narrative gained hold as investors repositioned ahead of three of the most closely watched corporate reports of the summer. The Nasdaq Composite ended at 25,837.21, up 329.13 points, or 1.29%, breaking a three-day losing streak. The S&P 500 climbed 0.89% to 7,509.20, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 385.38 points to close at 52,224.64.
This rally is important because it comes at a delicate time. Chip stocks had been falling for a week due to concerns about high AI valuations and weaker memory demand. Tensions between Iran and the United States also unsettled traders. On Tuesday, investors seemed willing to set aside these worries, at least for now, and focus on what comes next: the tech earnings kickoff July 2026 that begins in earnest Wednesday afternoon.
Big Tech Earnings Season Begins
Big Tech earnings season begins with Alphabet and Tesla reporting their second-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, followed by Intel on Thursday. This order is intentional. Wall Street sees these three companies as indicators for how the rest of the “Magnificent Seven” cohort will perform through the rest of earnings season, and the Google, Tesla, Intel earnings week carries outsized weight for a market that has leaned heavily on a small number of mega-cap names to sustain its gains.
The overall picture is positive. By Tuesday, about 66 S&P 500 companies had reported earnings, and nearly 88% beat profit estimates, according to FactSet. General Motors and 3M both exceeded expectations earlier in the day, with 3M shares rising more than 7% and GM up nearly 5%. This drive has set higher expectations for the tech companies reporting later this week.
Google Tesla Report Wednesday: What Analysts Want to See
Google Tesla report Wednesday, and expectations for Alphabet are high. Analysts expect adjusted earnings per share of $2.88, up 24.7% from $2.31 a year ago, and revenue to rise 21.3% year-over-year to $117 billion. Google Search is still the company’s biggest source of revenue, but investors are paying close attention to Google Cloud. The division backlog has grown to $462 billion thanks to strong enterprise demand, and the company recently introduced its eighth-generation Tensor Processing Units, which are custom chips for AI tasks. Alphabet has beaten earnings expectations for 13 straight quarters, and according to Bespoke Investment Group, the stock has typically gained an average of 1.3% on its reporting days.
Tesla’s outlook is less clear. The stock is down about 17% since the start of the year, and options traders expect a move of more than 7% in either direction after the results, which is much higher than the company’s average post-earnings change of 3.23% over the last four quarters. Second-quarter vehicle deliveries were better than expected, helped by demand in China and Europe. However, analysts are still cautious about slower Cybercab production and delays in the robotaxi launch. Tesla’s heavy spending on AI and manufacturing could also lead to negative free cash flow before the end of the year.
Intel Reports Thursday: The Foundry Test
Intel reports Thursday, closing out the week’s marquee reporting slate with a call arranged for 5 p.m. Analysts polled by LSEG expect year-over-year revenue growth of more than 12%, continuing the momentum from a first-quarter report that sent the stock higher. The company’s turnaround has been driven largely by its foundry ambitions and the wider AI data center buildout, though the stock has cooled somewhat as traders rotated out of semiconductors in recent weeks.
Not all the news is good. Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland has warned that personal computer production may be much weaker than usual, pointing to worsening memory-chip trends. This raises the main question for Intel’s report: can its foundry business grow quickly enough to make up for a weaker PC market? On Thursday, AMD will also hold its Advancing AI event in San Francisco, where it is expected to announce updates to its data-center products. This will add even more attention to an already busy day for semiconductor news.
Why This Week Sets the Mood
Markets don’t usually move in a straight line, and Tuesday’s gains do not guarantee a smooth ride through the rest of the week. But the fact that the Nasdaq climbs ahead of Big Tech earnings suggests investors are feeling more hopeful than last week’s selloff indicated. If Alphabet records strong results, it could support the idea that cloud and AI spending are still solid, even if other parts of the economy are struggling. But if Tesla disappoints, it could bring back worries about how much money the company can spend before it hurts profits.
These three companies also show how AI investment is affecting different types of businesses: an advertising and cloud leader, a carmaker focused on self-driving and robotics, and a chipmaker working to regain its manufacturing strength. Their results will influence not only their own stock prices but also the bigger story investors follow through the summer.
What to Watch in the Days Ahead
Investors have a clear list of things to watch for on Wednesday and Thursday. For Alphabet, the main focus is on Cloud revenue growth and any news about when AI might start making more money. For Tesla, trends in profit margins and news about Cybercab and robotaxi progress will probably affect the stock more than delivery numbers. For Intel, investors will pay close attention to foundry customer deals and any changes to full-year guidance, especially in light of Rolland’s warning about PC demand.
The Week Ahead
The Google, Tesla, Intel earnings this week storyline will not resolve on its own by Thursday’s close. American Express reports Friday, and the following week brings Amazon and Meta into the mix, extending the test of whether mega-cap technology companies can keep justifying the market’s faith in them. For now, Tuesday’s rally offers a vote of confidence. Whether that confidence survives three days of earnings reports from some of the market’s most consequential companies is the question Wall Street will spend the rest of the week trying to answer.
Source: Tech stocks live: Big Tech earnings kickoff with Google, Tesla set to report
