Amazon, Apple and Alphabet headline another busy earnings week

More than 100 S&P 500 companies, including six components of the Dow, are expected to report earnings in the coming week, according to FactSet. Their findings will provide insight into the overall health of the economy, as layoffs rise and businesses adjust to higher interest rates and slower growth.

Thursday will feature a trio of tech giants. Apple’s results are expected to show how well its iPhone and other products have fared over the holiday season, while Amazon will provide insight into the health of online shopping. Google parent Alphabet will provide color in the digital advertising market, following reports from Facebook parent Meta and social media company Snap Inc.

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Technology companies navigate in an environment where growth has cooled. “Just as we’ve seen customers accelerate their digital spending during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimize that spending,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said last Tuesday after the software giant recorded its slowest growth ever. sales in more than six years in its last quarter.

Earnings are expected to decline for the fourth quarter earnings season, according to FactSet. The data tracker said that with 29% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings are on track to fall 5% in the quarter from a year ago, technology companies in the ‘information and communication being among the main contributors to the decline in profits. Revenues are expected to increase by 3.9%.

Layoffs have multiplied beyond the technology and media sectors as slowing spending weakens profits elsewhere in the economy.

McDonald’s told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month it would be making “tough” decisions about staffing levels. The burger giant, which had around 200,000 full-time employees at the end of 2021, publishes its results on Tuesday.

Starbucks Corp.

reporting Thursday, will detail its performance after hitting a sales record in its quarter ended Oct. 2, while multimillion-dollar investment projects in new coffee equipment and higher wages slashed its profits .

Results for Snacks Company Mondelez International Inc.

coming tuesday and hershey chocolatier Co.

Thursday will show whether consumers have balked at rising snack and candy prices.

Any swings in consumer spending in the global beauty market, which has shown no signs of slowing, will be reflected in cosmetics firm Estée Lauder Cos.’s results, due Thursday.

In healthcare, Pfizer Inc.

DFP -1.04%

the results, scheduled for Tuesday, should provide a broader view of demand for Covid-19 vaccines amid rising cases of the XBB.1.5 subvariant. Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Eli Lilly & Co. are also expected to release their reports on Thursday.

General Engines Co.

and Ford F 2.71%

Motor Co.’s results, scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday respectively, will offer insight into the current state of the auto market and provide an update on their electric vehicle plans. Last Wednesday, Elon Musk said demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles “will be good despite a likely contraction in the overall auto market.”

Other notable companies expected to release their quarterly results include delivery company United Parcel Service Inc.

Tuesday, and T-Mobile US Inc.

TMUS -1.32%

and tobacco manufacturer Altria Group Inc.

Wednesday. Skechers USA shoe retailer Inc.

and crude oil producer ConocoPhillips are expected to report on Thursday.