Amazon and Intel headline the earnings releases after today’s close

As the major indices trade modestly to sharply lower with the Nasdaq Composite (-1.59%) and the Nasdaq 100 (-1.66%) leading the downward spiral, some other big names will report after the close including Amazon and Intel. The central question for technology investors: Is the growth coming from AI strong enough to justify the spending—and support future profits and cash flow?Consensus estimates vary slightly by provider. The comparisons below use current MarketBeat estimates against the same quarter a year ago; EPS generally reflects the adjusted measure used by analysts, except Amazon’s reported earnings.Amazon: AWS growth and the cost of delivering itEPS expected: $1.97 versus $1.95 a year ago—up approximately 1%.Revenue expected: $202.21 billion versus $180.17 billion—up 12.2%.Conference call: 5:00 PM ET.A year ago, the stock was trading at around $225. It is currently trading at $244.71.  The most important number could be Amazon Web Services revenue, with expectations around $45.4 billion–$45.6 billion, compared with approximately $33.0 billion a year ago. That implies growth of roughly 38%, a substantial acceleration from the 20% growth reported in last year’s third quarter. Investors will also examine AWS operating margins to judge how effectively that growth translates into profits. The other major focus is Amazon’s approximately $220 billion capital-spending outlook. Strong cloud demand would be encouraging, but another increase in spending could keep attention on free cash flow. Holiday-quarter retail guidance, advertising growth and fulfillment profitability will also help shape the reaction.An important earnings comparison: Last year’s $1.95 EPS included a $9.5 billion pretax gain from Amazon’s Anthropic investments. Consequently, the roughly flat headline EPS forecast does not provide a clean measure of underlying operating growth. Operating income, segment margins and cash flow deserve particular attention.Intel: A stronger recovery is already expectedAdjusted EPS expected: approximately $0.41 versus $0.23—up roughly 77%, using the unrounded estimate.Revenue expected: $16.54 billion versus $13.65 billion—up 21.1%.Conference call: 5:00 PM ET.Intel’s expectations already anticipate a meaningful improvement. Its own guidance called for $15.8 billion–$16.8 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $0.38, putting consensus above the revenue midpoint and above its earnings forecast. Intel CorporationInvestors will want evidence that demand for server processors can sustain the recovery, alongside updates on manufacturing capacity, margins and outside foundry customers. The next-quarter outlook and concrete progress in the foundry business may carry more weight than a modest earnings beat.A year ago the stock was trading at $37Other notable releases:Starbucks: Improving profits despite lower reported revenueAdjusted EPS expected: approximately $0.72 versus $0.52—up 38%.Revenue expected: $9.22 billion versus $9.57 billion—down approximately 3.6%.Conference call: 4:15 PM ET.The revenue decline needs context: Starbucks’ conversion of its China operations to a licensed joint venture reduces consolidated sales, making the headline comparison less representative of customer demand.The better barometers are U.S. comparable-store sales, transaction growth and operating margins. Management previously targeted U.S. comparable-sales growth of at least 6.5% for the quarter. Investors will also look closely at fiscal 2027 guidance to assess whether the turnaround can sustain its momentum.Gilead Sciences: EPS expected at $2.19 versus $2.47, down 11.3%; revenue of $7.80 billion versus $7.77 billion, up 0.4%. The key question is whether guidance points toward improving profitability against a largely flat revenue comparison. marketbeat.comFirst Solar: EPS expected at $4.67 versus $4.24, up 10.1%; revenue of $1.29 billion versus $1.59 billion, down approximately 19%. That divergence makes the explanation for stronger earnings, shipment timing and the forward outlook particularly relevant. marketbeat.comFor the technical setup, the distinction is between delivering growth and exceeding what the market has already priced in. Amazon faces elevated cloud expectations, while Intel is already expected to show a substantial recovery. The charts can help define whether buyers retain control going into those results—and where a disappointing reaction would put that control at risk. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.