Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
South Korea’s stock market came to a screeching halt this morning.
After the benchmark KOSPI index plunged more than 8%, a marketwide circuit breaker automatically halted trading for 20 minutes to prevent the selloff from spiraling.
But when trading resumed, so did the selling. By the closing bell, the KOSPI had plummeted 10.8%.
And two stocks were at the center of the storm.
Samsung Electronics sank 13.3%, while SK Hynix tumbled 14.7%.
Now, to unfamiliar American investors who might be thinking… “What gives? Stocks on the NYSE take a hit like that all the time.”
Well, the fact is that, together, these two memory-chip giants account for more than half of the KOSPI’s total market value.
So, when Samsung and SK Hynix stumble, the entire South Korean market feels it.
And here lately, much of the world feels it, too. In fact, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
That’s because the influence of Samsung and SK Hynix stretches far beyond Korea. Both companies sit at the heart of the global memory-chip industry. And their swings in Seoul can ripple through American semiconductor, memory and data-center stocks.
Here in the U.S., Micron Technology Corporation (MU) fell more than 8%, while SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) tumbled more than 14%. Semiconductor-equipment companies were also caught in the mess, too.
Even NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), the undisputed leader of the AI boom, initially moved lower before recovering from its early losses. That followed a roughly 5% drop on Monday.
So, what happened in South Korea offers an important reminder: When a handful of technology companies become big enough, their performance can move an entire market.
And when violent moves like this happen, we have to remind ourselves what’s true. Then, we have to have the courage to act.
That brings us to earnings season – specifically what’s on deck this week.
Four of America’s biggest technology companies will report earnings over the next 48 hours. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) report tomorrow, followed by Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) on Thursday.
Together, these four companies account for nearly 18% of the S&P 500. So, their quarterly results won’t just move their own shares. They could help set the tone for the broader market.
That raises an important question: Should you buy these four Big Tech stocks before they report? Or should we be looking elsewhere…
In today’s 蜜桃传媒 360, I’ll set the table for the earnings season so far, and then we’ll put this week’s four Big Tech reporters to the test and see how they stack up in my Stock Grader system. Then, I’ll explain why some of the biggest opportunities created by the AI boom may be found beyond the famous technology names dominating the headlines.
Earnings Are Blowing Past Expectations
Before we turn to this week’s four Big Tech reports, let’s look at the earnings environment.
I’ve been saying that the S&P 500 would deliver earnings growth north of 30% in the second quarter – and, so far, I’ve been proven right!
Our friends at FactSet now expect the S&P 500 to achieve average earnings growth of 37.9% in the second quarter. That’s up from 24.7% just last week and only 18.8% on March 31.
And here’s some important context: If that estimate holds, it will mark the S&P 500’s strongest earnings growth since the third quarter of 2021, when earnings grew 40.3%.
But that was the COVID recovery, when companies were bouncing back from artificially depressed results. This time, the broader earnings strength isn’t simply the result of easy pandemic comparisons.
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), which reported its second-quarter results last week, is a big reason estimates jumped so sharply.
The Google parent reported 297.6% year-over-year earnings growth, with earnings of $9.11 per share crushing estimates of $2.91 per share by 213%. That made it the biggest contributor to the S&P 500’s second-quarter earnings growth.
Yet Alphabet shares dropped about 7% after the announcement.
Investors looked beyond the headline beat and focused on the company’s rapidly rising AI spending. Alphabet raised its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to between $195 billion and $205 billion and warned that spending could increase again next year.
It’s an important reminder that a company can deliver a blockbuster report and still see its stock punished.
Here’s why that matters.
Up until recently, Big Tech was expected to spend about $700 billion on AI this year alone.
And with four more technology giants on deck over the next two days, that figure could tick higher.
Investors seem to be growing more and more nervous about the bill, so it’s worth keeping in mind this week.
So, let’s see what Stock Grader (subscription required) has to say about these stocks…
What Stock Grader Says About Big Tech
Buying a stock before earnings means taking a position before you know what the company will report – or how Wall Street will react.
So, rather than guess, let’s see what Stock Grader says about these four Big Tech stocks right now.
Stock Grader evaluates both a company’s underlying fundamentals and the quantitative buying pressure supporting its shares. And when I ran this week’s four Big Tech reporters through the system, this is what I saw…
Apple is the only one of the four to earn a B-rating, which makes it “Strong”. Amazon, Meta and Microsoft all earn D-ratings, making them “Weak”.
Now, these grades do not predict exactly what will happen after earnings. Alphabet is a perfect example. It held an A-rating, or “Very Strong”, in Stock Grader last week, yet its shares still fell after its report.
A Strong-rated stock can stumble if Wall Street expects even more, just as a Weak-rated stock can jump on a positive surprise.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in four decades in this business, it’s that good stocks bounce like fresh tennis balls – and bad ones ultimately drop like rocks.
And among this week’s four Big Tech reporters, Apple currently has the strongest overall grade.
This is also exactly the kind of comparison that the new Stock Grader AI will make easier.
Starting Thursday, my Growth Investor Preferred Members will be able to ask Stock Grader questions in plain English and search for stocks by sector, size, risk profile and grade trend. They’ll also be able to review multiple holdings at once with the new Portfolio Checker and receive weekly insights highlighting the most important upgrades, downgrades and sector shifts.
And all of it will still be powered by the same proprietary data and grading system you already know and trust.
Look Beyond the Biggest Names
So, should you buy Big Tech before earnings?
There is no blanket answer. Stock Grader shows that Apple enters this week’s reports with the strongest overall grade. But as we saw with Alphabet, even a Very Strong-rated stock can fall after delivering spectacular results.
Earnings announcements create uncertainty, and no system can guarantee how Wall Street will react overnight.
But there is a larger lesson here.
The companies dominating the headlines are also spending staggering sums to build out artificial intelligence. And some of the biggest beneficiaries may not be the familiar technology giants themselves.
They may be the companies supplying the infrastructure, power and specialized technology this expansion requires.
After all, when companies like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI, that money has to go somewhere.
It flows to the chipmakers, data-center suppliers, networking specialists, energy companies and other businesses making the AI buildout possible.
These are the kinds of opportunities investors can miss when they focus only on the famous companies making the headlines.
And they’re the focus of a presentation I recently put together.
In it, I explain why we haven’t reached “peak AI,” why the next stage of the buildout could create an entirely new group of winners and why some of the most interesting opportunities may be found outside the familiar Big Tech names.
I’ll also introduce you to three companies I believe are positioned to benefit as this massive technological shift accelerates.
Sincerely,
Louis Navellier
Editor, 蜜桃传媒 360
The Editor hereby discloses that as of the date of this email, the Editor, directly or indirectly, owns the following securities that are the subject of the commentary, analysis, opinions, advice, or recommendations in, or which are otherwise mentioned in, the essay set forth below:
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), Micron Technology Corporation (MU), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) and SanDisk Corporation (SNDK)
