Key Highlights

  • About 15% of S&P 500 companies report Earnings this week, led by SpaceX on Tuesday and Tesla and Meta on Wednesday.
  • Analysts expect SpaceX to report Q3 Revenue of about $12.89 billion and earnings of 14 cents a share.
  • Meta’s Capital spending outlook and Tesla’s margins are the main focus for Wednesday’s reports.
  • September pending home sales (Tuesday), initial jobless claims (Thursday) and final October Michigan sentiment and Inflation expectations (Friday) round out the calendar.

SpaceX, Tesla Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. report quarterly results this week, giving investors a fresh read on whether heavy spending on artificial intelligence is paying off.

About 15% of the companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report, in a week with no inflation or jobs report on the economic calendar. Wall Street analysts expect S&P 500 companies to post third-quarter earnings growth of more than 30%, according to LSEG IBES data. U.S. stock futures rose early Monday as traders tried to recover from last week’s selloff. The Federal Reserve is in its blackout period ahead of its Oct. 27-28 policy meeting, leaving earnings and a handful of data releases to drive sentiment.

SpaceX reports first, after the close on Tuesday, with a call at 4:30 p.m. New York time. Analysts expect revenue of about $12.89 billion, up roughly 65% from $7.81 billion in the second quarter, and earnings of 14 cents a share, according to TipRanks. That compares with a loss of 9 cents a share in the previous quarter. Some estimates run higher: Pivotal Research forecasts revenue of $13.2 billion and earnings of 21 cents.

The AI Business is the center of attention. The segment generated $2.56 billion of revenue in the second quarter and posted an operating loss of $1.26 billion, while the company’s capital expenditures reached $15.8 billion in the period. TradingKey reported that the market expects AI revenue of about $6.4 billion in the third quarter, which would make it the company’s largest revenue source, ahead of Starlink. Starlink ended the second quarter with 12 million subscribers, according to TipRanks.

The shares have come under pressure into the report. SpaceX fell 10.6% between Oct. 12 and Oct. 16 and closed Friday at $146.03, about 17% below its October high, as investors weighed the company’s AI infrastructure spending. Options traders are pricing in a move of about 7.8% in either direction after the results, according to TipRanks. The stock also fell after its second-quarter report, even though revenue topped forecasts.

Analysts have turned more positive in recent days. Evercore ISI raised its price target on SpaceX to $275 from $230 on Friday and kept an Outperform rating, saying the company’s catalysts are closer than they appear. Analyst Kutgun Maral told clients that Starship reached orbit and deployed its first V3 satellites on Flight 14, and that reuse could be proven within the next few flights. He expects SpaceX to post third-quarter revenue above Wall Street’s estimates, according to TipRanks.

Meta and Tesla follow on Wednesday, both after the close. Meta is expected to report earnings of $6.76 a share on revenue of about $63.35 billion, according to BofA analysts cited by Yahoo Finance. That would sit within the company’s guided range of $61 billion to $64 billion. The focus is on spending. Meta has guided to 2026 capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion. In the second quarter, $31.1 billion of spending left the company with only $784 million in free cash flow, and the shares fell more than 7% after hours as profit missed forecasts. Investors will look for any change to the spending range and for signs that AI is lifting Advertising growth.

Tesla is expected to report earnings of 45 cents a share on revenue of about $28 billion, according to FactSet and Fiscal.ai data. The company has already reported 486,532 third-quarter deliveries, above analyst estimates of roughly 461,000 to 462,000, which shifts attention to margins, Cash Flow and how aggressively Tesla plans to fund its robotaxi, Optimus and AI efforts. Analysts expect profit per share to be lower than a year earlier.

The back-to-back reports from SpaceX and Tesla give investors a rare close look at Elon Musk’s AI ambitions in consecutive sessions, while Meta’s results offer an early read on the broader hyperscaler spending cycle.

Elsewhere, Netflix Inc. also reports Tuesday, with analysts expecting earnings of 82 cents a share on revenue of about $12.9 billion, according to FXEmpire. General Motors, GE Aerospace, RTX, Northrop Grumman and United Airlines are among the other companies due that day. IBM reports Wednesday, and Thursday brings results from American Airlines, Spotify, Lockheed Martin and Western Digital. The breadth of the lineup means that cyclical industries, consumer names and defense contractors will all weigh in alongside the technology giants.

On the economic calendar, September pending home sales are due Tuesday at 10 a.m. New York time. The index rose 0.3% in August. Economists surveyed by various providers expect a small decline to little change, with forecasts ranging from a 0.4% drop to flat, as elevated Mortgage rates continue to weigh on the housing market.

Initial jobless claims are due Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Economists expect 200,000 for the week ended Oct. 17, compared with 199,000 the previous week. Continuing claims were 1.71 million in the prior report. The data have pointed to a stable labor market.

The week ends Friday with the University of Michigan’s final October consumer sentiment reading and its inflation expectations at 10 a.m. The preliminary sentiment index fell to 46.3, the lowest since May’s record low and below economists’ expectations of about 47.6 to 47.8. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose to 4.7% from 4.6% in September, while five-year expectations rose to 3.5% from 3.4%. Those readings will be watched by Fed officials and investors ahead of the central bank’s meeting later this month.

Taken together, the week offers a test of two themes that have driven markets this year: the returns on AI Investment and the resilience of households facing higher prices. Guidance on spending from SpaceX and Meta, and Margin commentary from Tesla, may matter as much to share prices as the headline numbers.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Investors should conduct their own research and consult a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions. Estimates are from third-party analyst surveys and may differ by provider.