Cloud Numbers Are In; This Week the Spotlight Moves to Phones, Laptops and Chips

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2026 /CNW/ -- Market Updates News Commentary - Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon reported third-quarter results last week, and the next-session moves in their shares ranged from a fractional dip to a double-digit drop. Attention now turns to consumer hardware: Apple holds its fiscal fourth-quarter results call this afternoon, and Qualcomm, whose largest revenue stream comes from handsets, reports on Wednesday. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM).

Apple's conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter results is scheduled for Monday, November 2, at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET, according to the company's investor relations site. The comparison investors will be measuring against is the September quarter of 2025, when Apple posted revenue of $102.5 billion, up 8 percent year over year, and diluted earnings per share of $1.85. Qualcomm has said it will publish its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results on Wednesday, November 4, after the close, with a conference call beginning at 1:45 p.m. PT.

Last week's reports also showed how quickly spending on property and equipment is climbing. In the quarter ended September 30, Microsoft's additions to property and equipment totaled $39.4 billion, compared with $19.4 billion a year earlier; Alphabet's purchases of property and equipment reached $51.4 billion, up from $24.0 billion; and Amazon's purchases of property and equipment came to $77.3 billion, compared with $35.1 billion. Amazon attributed the year-over-year increase in its trailing twelve-month purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives, primarily to investments in artificial intelligence, and said it continues to expect 2026 cash capital expenditures of approximately $220 billion.

Component costs are the other thread running through the sector. Qualcomm said in July that input costs are climbing across the semiconductor industry, from wafer fabrication and advanced packaging to memory, and that it is taking steps to reflect those higher costs in its product pricing. Amazon's guidance named supply volatility, including for memory chips, among the factors that could affect its results. Trade policy has also shown up in reported numbers: Apple's June-quarter gross margin of 50.1 percent included a favorable impact of approximately 2 percentage points from tariff refunds.

With two hardware reports landing in three days, prices can gap sharply in either direction once the numbers are out. The free Knowledge is Power guide from Stock Preachers, available at market-updates.com/, shows how to read those post-earnings setups on the chart before deciding what a move means.

In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple reported on July 30 fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16 percent year over year, and diluted earnings per share of $2.02, up 29 percent, including a favorable impact of $0.11 from tariff refunds. Monday's call is also Apple's first quarterly results call since September 1, 2026, the date the company set in April for John Ternus to become chief executive officer and Tim Cook executive chairman.

Ahead of the report, Apple introduced on October 28 a MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR display built on tandem OLED technology, which also brings Touch capabilities to the Mac for the first time. Pre-orders opened the same day, availability begins Friday, November 6, and the 14-inch model with M5 Pro starts at $2,899 (U.S.). Apple shares closed Friday at $344.63, down 1.23%.

"The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is a monumental step forward for the Mac," said Johny Srouji, Apple's chief hardware officer.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Microsoft reported on October 28 revenue of $92.3 billion for the quarter ended September 30, an increase of 19%, with operating income up 21% to $45.9 billion. Diluted earnings per share was $4.92 on a GAAP basis, up 32%, and $4.89 on a non-GAAP basis that excludes the impact from investments in OpenAI, up 18%. Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30% to $63.9 billion, Azure revenue grew 48%, and commercial remaining performance obligation climbed 73% to $677 billion. Revenue in Devices and Consumer declined 3% to $15.5 billion, with Windows OEM and Devices revenue down 22%. The shares closed at $530.14 on October 29, down 0.16%.

"We are delivering greater capability, choice, control, and cost efficiency for customers across our entire stack," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL)

Alphabet reported on October 28 that third-quarter consolidated revenues grew 25% to $127.6 billion, its 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. Google Cloud revenues climbed 103% to $30.7 billion, with TPU systems sales cited as a meaningful contributor, while Google Services revenues rose 11% to $96.3 billion and the Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices line grew to $14.3 billion from $12.9 billion. Diluted earnings per share was $2.12, compared with $2.87 a year earlier; the company said the net effect of an $8.7 billion loss on equity securities lowered diluted earnings per share by $0.55. Class A shares closed at $283.82 on October 29, down 12.64%.

"We had a strong quarter and are now on a half-trillion dollar revenue run rate," said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Amazon reported on October 29 third-quarter net sales of $201.9 billion, up 12%, with AWS segment sales up 39% to $46.0 billion. Operating income rose to $28.1 billion from $17.4 billion, for an operating margin of 13.9%, which the company described as its highest ever. Net income was $20.7 billion, or $1.89 per diluted share, compared with $1.95 per diluted share a year earlier, when results included $9.5 billion of pre-tax gains from its investments in Anthropic. Amazon expects fourth-quarter net sales of between $240.0 billion and $247.0 billion and operating income of between $28.5 billion and $33.5 billion. The shares closed Friday at $240.35, down 1.41%.

"Our AWS investment in functionality and infrastructure is working, with over 39% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 ($184 billion revenue run rate) and projected revenue growth rates of over 40% both in 2027 and in 2028," said Andy Jassy, President and CEO, Amazon.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM)

Qualcomm will report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the close on Wednesday. For that quarter, the company guided in July to revenues of $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.05 to $2.25. In its fiscal third quarter ended June 28, revenues were $9.9 billion, down 4%, with GAAP diluted earnings per share of $1.87 and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.21. In its QCT chip business, handset revenues fell 20% to $5.09 billion, while automotive revenues rose 61% to $1.59 billion. Qualcomm shares closed Friday at $164.79, down 11.12%.

"Despite a challenging memory and supply environment, our third quarter results reflect solid execution of our growth strategy, with quarterly revenues at the high end of guidance," said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated.

Last week's cloud reports were followed by very different share moves, and this week's hardware results can shift the picture just as quickly. Learn to read those setups with the free Stock Preachers guide, plus The Roadmap market reports, at market-updates.com/.

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