Big Tech’s earnings season kicks off next week with a flurry of announcements from some of the industry’s most important players including Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT). With the new year well under way, and AI still the hottest ticket in Silicon Valley, you can expect plenty of conversations about how companies are monetizing the technology and how much they spend on capital expenditures related to constructing data centers and producing new AI models.
And looming over all of that will be how newly-inaugurated President Trump will impact tech’s biggest trend in years. Whether it’s tougher tariffs, export controls, or more relaxed antitrust regulations, Big Tech will be keeping a close eye on Washington. And investors are certain to want to know what that means for companies’ bottom lines.
Trump already made his mark on the AI scene on Tuesday, announcing Stargate, a $500 billion AI data center company headed by Softbank, OpenAI, and Oracle (ORCL) that will see the trio construct data centers to power AI projects within the U.S.
It’s all going to make for quite an interesting earnings season, and it kicks off with Meta and Microsoft on Wednesday.
Investors and analysts will want to know how companies are working with the administration to ensure they don’t end up on the wrong end of Trump’s proposed tariffs on goods from China.
Apple (AAPL), whose CEO Tim Cook has a good relationship with the president, avoided tariffs during the first Trump administration and will look to do so this time around, as well. Amazon (AMZN), Apple, Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta, and Microsoft could also see less regulation around antitrust matters and a return to mergers and acquisitions.
There’s also the fate of the CHIPS Act. The legislation, passed under the Biden administration is meant to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US. But Trump has criticized the law, which provides billions in funding to chip makers, saying it was “so bad” during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast ahead of the election.
Without the cash, Intel (INTC), TSMC, Samsung, and a slew of other semiconductor companies may not be able to complete their ambitious plans to build new chip making facilities. Look for word on how the likes of Intel and its competitors are navigating the new administration and whether it’s heard how it plans to address the CHIPS Act.
In addition to Trump, you can guarantee that virtually every tech company will mention AI revenue and spending. According to Jefferies analyst Brent Thill, Microsoft should report improved AI consumption and continued spending, something investors have been hoping for as the company works to meet customer demand for AI infrastructure.
