It’s a huge week for corporate earnings, with 34% of the S&P 500 due to report for the January to March period.
FactSet projects that S&P 500 earnings will decline by nearly 16% for the quarter, which would be the largest year-over-year decline since the second quarter of 2009.
But the biggest US companies will share results this coming week, including Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook.
These tech giants have weathered the Covid-19 storm better than most — particularly Amazon, whose shares are up nearly 30% this year as online deliveries soar, and Microsoft, whose stock has risen 9%, in part because of the ongoing need for cloud services.
Apple (AAPL) is under more pressure because of supply chain issues and lower demand for nonessential products — a category that likely includes iPhones.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said a key question for CEO Tim Cook will be any clues around the launch of Apple’s 5G phones, which he said are expected to drive profits over the next 12 to 18 months.
Those investors who claim the first quarter is old news will still have plenty to learn from this week. Companies with heavy exposure to China — including Caterpillar, 3M and Starbucks — are also on the docket, shining a light on how shutdowns in the country affected their businesses.