The fourth quarter earnings season momentum continues this week, with results from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), AMD (AMD), Qualcomm (QCOM), and Palantir (PLTR) highlighting the calendar.

As of Jan. 30, 33% of S&P 500 (^GSPC) companies have reported fourth quarter results, according to FactSet data, and Wall Street analysts estimate an 11.9% increase in earnings per share for the fourth quarter. If that rate holds, it would represent the 10th consecutive quarter of annual earnings growth for the index and the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

Heading into the reporting period, analysts were expecting an 8.3% jump in earnings per share, down from the third quarter's 13.6% earnings growth rate. Wall Street has raised its earnings expectations in recent months, especially for tech companies, which have driven earnings growth in recent quarters.

Big Tech results set the tone, as capital expenditures continue apace. Plus, the themes that drove the markets in 2025 — artificial intelligence, the Trump administration's tariff and economic policies, and a K-shaped consumer economy — continue to provide plenty for investors to parse.

This week, investors will hear updates from companies including Disney (DIS), Chipotle (CMG), PepsiCo (PEP), Uber (UBER), and Snap (SNAP).

Qualcomm (QCOM) stock fell around 8% in extended trading after the chip designer's results beat on the top and bottom lines but its forecast was lighter than expected. A memory chip shortage stemming from data center developers scooping up chips and chipmakers shifting production to cater to AI demand added pressure to the company's outlook.

In the fiscal first quarter, the company said revenue increased 5% year over year to $12.3 billion, while earnings per share rose to $2.78. Qualcomm beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines, with consensus estimates forecasting $12.1 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $2.75, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

However, the outlook for the fiscal second quarter dimmed as a supply crunch in memory chips weighs on margins and the smartphone market.

Second quarter revenue is expected in the range of $10.2 billion to $11 billion (analysts were looking for $11 billion at the midpoint). Adjusted diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $2.45 to $2.65 (the Street was hoping for $2.87).

\\"While our near-term handsets outlook is impacted by industry-wide memory supply constraints, we are encouraged by end-consumer demand for premium and high tier smartphones, and remain on track to achieve our fiscal 2029 revenue goals,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said in the earnings release.

Peloton (PTON) stock tumbled more than 9% in premarket trading after the connected fitness company reported a lackluster holiday quarter that failed to deliver results and shared that its CFO Liz Coddington would be departing.

For the fiscal second quarter, Peloton recorded a basic loss per share of $0.09, wider than the $0.06 loss expected. Revenue was $656.5 million in the quarter, below expectations for $675.1 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Subscriptions to its connected fitness service dropped 7% year over year to 2.66 million after the company raised prices at the beginning of October.

Peloton also forecast a challenging quarter ahead as the company transforms its product lineup and tries to stabilize shrinking sales. The company has added new features to its lineup, including a CrossFit training series, as it attempts to revamp offerings.

In its fiscal third quarter, Peloton expects subscriptions to decrease by 8% year over year to a range of 2.65 million to 2.67 million. Revenue is expected to come in between $605 million and $625 million, a 1% decline year over year.

Hershey Co's (HSY) stock edged higher by 2% before the bell on Thursday after reporting an upbeat outlook. The US confectionery company said higher prices and new products had helped to boost its performance.

Bloomberg News reports:

The Pennsylvania-based maker of Hershey’s chocolates and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sees adjusted earnings per share of $8.20 to $8.52. The low-end of that range topped Wall Street estimates by about 15%.

The optimistic outlook shows Hershey benefiting from its decision to raise prices by double digits last year, due to high cocoa costs that are now coming down. Cocoa futures have fallen recently, as demand shows signs of waning following years of high cocoa prices that caused consumers to buy less chocolate and candy companies to change their recipes.

Shares of Hershey rose as much as 4.4% in premarket trading. The stock has gained 13% this year through Wednesday’s close, compared with a less than 1% increase in the S&P 500 Index.

Read more here.

Estee Lauder (EL) shares slumped 10% before the bell on Thursday, despite beating analysts' estimates on earnings per share and revenue, but tariff woes caused the beauty group's shares to tumble.

Investing.com reports:

The company reported second-quarter earnings per share of $0.89, $0.06 better than the analyst estimate of $0.83 and up 43% year-on-year. Revenue for the quarter came in at $4.23 billion, up 6% year-on-year and above the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion.

Despite raising its full-year outlook, Estée Lauder warned that tariff-related headwinds would impact fiscal 2026 profitability by approximately $100 million, mostly in the second half. The company expects these tariffs to affect imports from various countries, including a 39% rate on Swiss imports and a 35% rate on Canadian imports to the U.S.

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

Cigna on Thursday forecast 2026 profit and revenue below Wall Street expectations, signaling continued medical cost and margin ​pressure.

U.S. insurers have faced high costs over the last two ‌years, as they battled increased demand for medical services in government-backed plans.

Cigna, however, relies more ‌on its pharmacy benefits segment and employer-sponsored healthcare plans. Unlike peers, it no longer offers Medicare Advantage plans for adults aged 65 and older and people with disabilities, and has also taken steps to shrink the Obamacare ⁠business.

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

Danish ‌shipping giant Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) ‌on Thursday reported fourth-quarter ⁠operating ‌profit broadly in ‍line with expectations and ​warned that ‌falling freight rates, compounded by ongoing ⁠industry ​challenges, ​would weigh on earnings ‍in ⁠2026.

Maersk's Copenhagen-listed shares fell 5% on Thursday.

Read more here.

Shell (SHEL) stock fell 2% before the bell on Thursday after reporting fourth quarter profit that missed analysts' expectations. The group did, however, announce a $3.5 billion share buyback.

Yahoo Finance UK's Vicky McKeever reports on the latest results.

The oil major posted adjusted earnings of $3.26bn for the quarter, in results released on Thursday, down from $5.43bn in the previous three months and lower than the $3.66bn reported a year ago. That was also below expectations of $3.51bn, according to consensus estimates provided by the company.

For the year, adjusted earnings totalled $18.53bn, which was down from the $23.72bn reported for 2024 and was below expectations of $18.79bn.

Read more here.

From Reuters:

Shares of Arm Holdings fell on Wednesday as its licensing revenues slightly missed Wall Street ​estimates, despite a push by the company to boost the segment with ‌new chip technology offerings.

Shares were down 6% in after-hours trading after Arm reported results. It also forecast fourth-quarter revenue ‌above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, driven by demand for its energy-efficient chip designs used in artificial intelligence applications from data centers to smartphones.

For Arm's fiscal third quarter, licensing revenue, which includes upfront fees for access to its technology, stood at $505 ‍million, slightly below estimates of $519.9 million, according to FactSet. The results came even as Arm pushes customers to adopt the latest version of its chip technology, which comes with higher licensing costs.

The ​company projected revenue of $1.47 billion for the fourth quarter, compared with analysts' average ‌estimate of $1.44 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Read more here.

E.l.f. Beauty (ELF) demonstrated resilience in the fourth quarter following a difficult 2025, with a strong earnings beat and guidance raise.

The affordable cosmetics manufacturer lifted its full-year 2026 sales outlook to a range of $1.6 billion to $1.61 billion from its previous range of $1.55 billion to $1.57 billion. The company also sees greater earnings per share of $3.05-$3.10, an increase from the previous range of $2.80-$2.85.

The stock soared by as much as 14% in after-hours trading as the company looks to regain its footing after higher tariffs and other challenges led the stock to lose 40% in 2025. However, the stock pared some of those gains, perhaps due to lower gross margins amid ongoing tariff costs.

Last year, the company also acquired Hailey Bieber's Rhode brand.

In the fourth quarter, e.l.f. reported better-than-expected earnings per share of $0.65 versus $0.55 expected by Wall Street analysts. Net sales jumped 38% to $489.5 million, topping estimates of $461 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

\\"Our value proposition, powerhouse innovation and disruptive marketing engine continue to fuel our brands,\\" CEO Tarang Amin said in a statement. \\"We remain confident in our ability to grow market share and deliver best-in-class growth in beauty, as reflected by our raised fiscal 2026 outlook.\\"

Read more about e.l.f.'s quarter from Reuters.

Snap (SNAP) stock galloped higher after a strong holiday quarter for advertising lifted earnings above Wall Street's estimates.

For the fourth quarter, the video messaging app reported revenue of $1.71 billion and earnings per share of $0.03. That beat Wall Street estimates of $1.7 billion in revenue and a $0.03 loss per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Reuters reports:

The Snapchat-parent said total active advertisers on ‌the platform rose 28% in the fourth quarter, underscoring strength in direct response ads and growth in new ad ‌formats such as Sponsored Snaps and Promoted Places.

Revenue rose 10% from a year earlier to $1.72 billion in the quarter ended December ​31, exceeding analysts' average estimate of $1.70 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It expects first-quarter ‌revenue to be between $1.50 billion and $1.53 billion, slightly below estimates of $1.55 billion.

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance's Laura Bratton reports:

Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) stock fell as much as 7% after the bell on Wednesday before recovering as the tech giant's 2026 capital expenditure forecast soared past analyst expectations.

In its fourth quarter earnings report, Google's parent company, Alphabet, forecast 2026 capital expenditures of $180 billion at the midpoint, well above the $119.5 billion projected by analysts tracked by Bloomberg. Alphabet's fourth quarter capex of $91.5 billion was more than triple the expected $28.2 billion for the period, per Bloomberg estimates.

The stock pared losses and hovered around the flat line shortly after the results.

\\"We’re seeing our AI investments and infrastructure drive revenue and growth across the board,\\" said CEO Sundar Pichai in the company's press release. He said the higher 2026 spending would allow the company \\"to meet customer demand and capitalize on the growing opportunities.\\"

Read the full earnings breakdown here.

Alphabet's fourth quarter financial results delivered some big wins against what Wall Street was expecting to see.https://t.co/IbAG1uPBDJ pic.twitter.com/mFajudM5BM

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) February 4, 2026

During the fourth quarter earnings call for power management giant Eaton Corporation (ETN), CEO Paulo Ruiz Sternadt said the company's backlog of orders \\"just keeps growing\\" and projected a continued firehose of demand as the AI arms race powers on.

Data center orders at Eaton roughly tripled in the fourth quarter over the prior year, while the backlog for its \\"Electrical Americas\\" division grew by 31% quarter-on-quarter to hit a new record, Sternadt said during the call on Tuesday.

Eaton's stock price spiked after the report and is up by more than 6% over the past five trading sessions and by more than 16% on the year.

Eaton reported fourth quarter revenue at $7.05 billion, outperforming revenue of $6.24 billion from a year ago but falling below analysts' expectations of $7.09 billion.

On the bottom line, the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.33 per share, outperforming estimates of $3.32 per share.

Talking about Eaton's strong order backlog, Sternadt attributed much of the company's success to the demand from AI hyperscalers.

\\"You probably noticed on recent news from the hyperscalers that they reconfirmed their capex plans for 2026 — this is also great news that supports these projects,\\" Sternadt said. \\"Multi-tenant and new cloud players, they are so active, never seen them so active as they are today. If I'm to summarize the market picture here, lots of strength, and these projects will take years to complete. So that's what gives us the optimism in the future.\\"

GE HealthCare (GEHC) reported better-than-expected profits in the fourth quarter and issued a 2026 financial outlook ahead of Wall Street's estimates, as the company expects stronger demand and fewer tariff-related cost impacts this year.

The medical device maker's adjusted profit per share forecast was between $4.95 and $5.15. Analysts were expecting guidance of $4.92 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. For 2026, GE HealthCare also expects revenue growth in the range of 3% to 4% year over year.

The stock popped 6% in morning trading on Wednesday.

From Reuters:

Resilient demand for medical procedures, particularly from ‌older Americans, has prompted hospitals to invest in diagnostic and medical devices over the past ‌couple of years. The company makes CT, X-ray, and PET scanners as well as a range of other devices.

Revenue at GE HealthCare's imaging devices unit — the largest of its four segments — rose 6.6% to $2.55 billion in the ⁠fourth quarter.

On ⁠an adjusted basis, GE HealthCare earned a profit of $1.44 per share during the quarter ended December 31, compared with estimates of $1.40 ⁠per share.

Total quarterly sales came in at $5.7 billion, up 7.1% from a year ago ‌and higher than analysts' average estimate of $5.61 billion.

Read more here.

Novo Nordisk stock extended losses on Wednesday after a downbeat sales forecast sent shares sharply lower on Tuesday.

Bloomberg reports:

Novo Nordisk A/S shares plunged after the company shocked investors by forecasting a steep decline in sales, evidence of an intensifying price war in obesity drugs.

Sales will fall by as much as 13% this year, the company said Tuesday. Pressure from lower prices for its blockbuster weight-loss drugs, in part due to the US government’s push to cut prices, will contribute to the decline.

“It really paints a picture of a challenged Novo,” Lars Hytting, head of trading at ArthaScope, an investor in the Danish drugmaker, said in an interview. “Even the most skeptical analyst” didn’t anticipate this big of a drop, he said.

The shares fell as much as 20% in early Copenhagen trading, the biggest intraday decline since July, more than wiping out the previous gains for this year. The company’s market value has fallen to about $215 billion from more than $600 billion in 2024, when it became Europe’s most valuable company.

Read more here.

Enphase Energy (ENPH) stock soared 20% during premarket hours after the company's profit and revenue beat analysts' estimates. The technology company's shares have risen 10% over the past month, but are down almost 42% for the year.

The AP reports:

The Fremont, California-based company said it had net income of 29 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 71 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 54 cents per share.

The solar technology company posted revenue of $343.3 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $334.6 million.

Read more here.

Supermicro (SMCI) stock jumped 11% before the bell on Wednesday after the server maker raised its annual revenue forecast on Tuesday, citing continued strong demand for its AI servers, driven by companies expanding their data centre capacity.

Reuters reports:

Super Micro ‌has established itself as a primary beneficiary of the generative artificial intelligence boom, working closely with chip designers like Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to quickly bring servers to market.

\\"Super Micro's growth is tied to its ⁠importance as the integrator ‌to large cloud and AI customers, said Gadjo Sevilla, technology analyst at Emarketer.

Sevilla added that by securing long-term ‍engagements and aligning inventory to their rollout timelines, the company ensures demand is met before production and minimizes volatility.

Its ability to quickly deliver fully integrated systems ​featuring Nvidia's latest GPUs has been critical to its success.

Read more here.

Uber (UBER) stock dropped more than 8% in premarket trading after the ride-hailing giant issued first quarter profit guidance that disappointed investors.

The company also missed fourth quarter estimates as its more affordable ride options affected margins.

And in other news, Uber said its CFO, Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, will step down and be succeeded by Balaji Krishnamurthy, a former Goldman Sachs executive.

Reuters reports:

Trips ‌rose 22% in the fourth quarter, as more consumers opted for Uber's affordable offers such as shared rides and other lower-cost ‌mobility products.

The ride-hailing company had said in November it was deliberately moderating the pace of margin growth after demonstrating over the past several years that its business model can generate profits at scale.

Uber had said investments in affordability and low-cost product offerings were partly responsible for accelerating mobility growth, even as they weighed on ⁠near-term margin gains.

The company said quarterly gross bookings rose 22% to $54.14 billion, while ‌revenue increased about 20% to $14.37 billion, reflecting strong growth in its two largest segments.

Read more here.

Eli Lilly (LLY) stock jumped 7% before the bell on Wednesday after the pharmaceutical group provided a 2026 profit forecast above Wall Street estimates. The company said it is hoping demand for its weight-loss drugs rises as it gets ready to release its oral weight-loss pill this year.

Reuters reports:

Lilly last ⁠year became the ‌first pharmaceutical company to hit a $1 trillion valuation, driven by the ‍popularity of its blockbuster weight-loss drug, Zepbound, and a rapidly expanding obesity market that is shifting ​toward cash-pay options and telehealth channels.

Lilly's ‌upbeat outlook stands in sharp contrast to that of rival Novo Nordisk, which has warned of \\"unprecedented\\" price pressures in 2026 after rattling investors with a forecast for a ⁠steep sales drop this ​year.

Read more here.

Match Group (MTCH) stock surged more than 7% in extended trading, nearly recovering all of Tuesday's losses, after the Tinder parent issued an upbeat revenue outlook for the first quarter and showed signs of progress in its turnaround.

From Reuters:

The company has ‌been reworking core features to steer users toward more meaningful matches and reduce negative experiences, ‌as younger daters grow more selective and tend to leave platforms more quickly.

Hinge remained a bright ​spot, with payers rising 17% to 1.9 ​million, helped by continued international expansion after launches in Mexico and Brazil in 2025, the company said.

In 2026, Hinge plans ‍to expand its ⁠presence into Argentina, Chile and Peru, while also increasing investments in India.

The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $850 and $860 million, the midpoint ⁠of which is above analysts' estimates of $853.30 million.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted ‌revenue of $878 million, above estimates of $871.3 million.

Read more here.

Amgen (AMGN) stock advanced 1.5% after hours following solid fourth quarter results from the drug manufacturer, as drug sales increased 7%.

From Reuters:

The California-based biotech company's ‌overall quarterly revenue rose 9% from a year earlier to $9.9 billion, which beat the average ‌analyst estimate of $9.5 billion, according to LSEG data. Adjusted earnings per share were little changed from a year earlier at $5.29, but exceeded analysts' expectations of $4.73.

For 2026, Amgen said it expects adjusted earnings per share of $21.60 to $23.00, while Wall Street is estimating $22.09 ⁠per share. The company forecast ‌revenue for the year of $37 billion to $38.4 billion, with a midpoint well ahead of analysts' forecast of $37.1 billion.

Fourth-quarter product sales ‍rose 10% by volume, while net prices fell 4%, resulting in 7% quarter-over-quarter growth.

Read more here. 

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