Big Tech Q2 2026 earnings — the AI capex question and what UK investors should watch

Five of the largest US technology companies — Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon — report their latest quarterly results between 22 and 30 July 2026. The season begins just days after IBM’s 20%+ share price drop on an infrastructure earnings miss, which has sharpened investor attention on the question every analyst is asking: is the enormous AI spending spree translating into revenue?

This guide covers the reporting calendar, what AI capex is and why it matters, the metrics worth watching, and how UK investors access US technology. It is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.

When do Big Tech companies report Q2 2026 results?

The main US technology reports are spread across three dates in late July:

• 22 July 2026 (after US close): Alphabet (Google) — Alphabet Investor Relations, July 2026
• 29 July 2026 (after US close): Microsoft (fiscal Q4) and Meta Platforms — Microsoft newsroom; Finance Calendar, July 2026
• 30 July 2026 (after US close): Apple (fiscal Q3) and Amazon — 9to5Mac, 2 July 2026; Finance Calendar, July 2026

Dates can move, so confirm on each company’s own investor relations page. Microsoft and Apple report on different fiscal calendars — their ‘Q4’ and ‘Q3’ labels both cover the April–June 2026 period.

What is AI capex and why does it matter?

AI capex is spending on the infrastructure that runs artificial intelligence: data centres, specialist chips (particularly GPUs), servers and power. It is capital expenditure on long-term physical assets rather than everyday running costs.

The scale has grown sharply. Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft are together planning approximately $725 billion in capital expenditure in 2026 — up roughly 77% from about $410 billion the previous year (Yahoo Finance, July 2026). Alphabet alone spent $35.7 billion in Q1 2026 and guided to a full-year range of $180–190 billion (Alphabet Q1 2026 results, 29 April 2026).

That pace of spending is why the “is the AI spend paying off?” debate has become the season’s central question. Analysts want to know whether AI revenue is growing fast enough to justify the cash going out of the door.

Google Cloud revenue grew approximately 63% year-on-year in Q1 2026, passing $20 billion. Microsoft Azure grew roughly 31% at constant-currency terms in the same period. Whether that pace continued into Q2 is one of the key questions for both Alphabet’s 22 July report and Microsoft’s 29 July release. (Alphabet Q1 2026 results; AlphaSense, April 2026)

Which metrics should UK investors watch?

Three numbers do most of the analytical work in Big Tech earnings:

• Cloud revenue growth: Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and AWS (Amazon) are where AI demand shows up first. Alphabet’s Q1 2026 Google Cloud growth of ~63% and Azure’s ~31% are the benchmarks to compare Q2 against
• Operating margins on cloud divisions: rising investment can compress margins if revenue doesn’t keep up. A margin squeeze signals that capex is outrunning monetisation; margin expansion suggests the opposite
• Updated capex guidance: whether companies raise or hold their full-year infrastructure spending guidance signals management’s confidence in future AI demand. A guidance cut would be a negative signal; a raise would confirm conviction

Analyst consensus estimates ahead of results pointed to Apple revenue of around $108.9 billion and Amazon revenue of approximately $196 billion (Finance Calendar, July 2026). These are analyst expectations, not company forecasts, and are not a guarantee of future performance.

For context on the broader AI investment theme, see IG’s AI stocks and ETFs thematic basket.

What does IBM’s miss mean for the season?

IBM’s 20%+ share price drop on 14 July 2026 added a note of caution to the sector. However, its miss had a specific cause: clients shifted late-June capex toward supply-constrained hardware rather than IBM’s software and infrastructure services — a timing-driven issue rather than a sign of weak AI demand (IBM; CNBC, 14 July 2026).

The companies reporting later this month face a different question: whether their own AI products — cloud AI, AI advertising tools, AI-powered hardware — are generating the revenue their infrastructure investment was designed to support. IBM’s results speak to its own circumstances, not theirs.

How can UK investors access US tech?

UK investors have two broad routes to US technology exposure:

• Leveraged trading (CFDs / spread betting / indices): trade price movements in individual stocks or indices such as the US Tech 100, without owning the underlying asset. Losses can exceed your initial deposit when trading with leverage
• Investing (share dealing / ETFs): own US shares directly or gain diversified exposure through ETFs tracking technology indices. Eligible assets can be held within a stocks and shares ISA. Capital at risk

For a practical overview of both routes, see IG’s guide to how to buy US ETFs in the UK.

Big Tech earnings season summed up

• Reporting dates: Alphabet 22 July; Microsoft and Meta 29 July; Apple and Amazon 30 July 2026
• Combined AI capex for Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft: ~$725bn in 2026, up ~77% YoY (Yahoo Finance, July 2026)
• Central question: is AI revenue growing fast enough to justify that spending?
• Key metrics: cloud revenue growth vs Q1 benchmarks (Google Cloud +63%, Azure +31%), operating margins, updated capex guidance
• IBM’s 14 July miss (-20%) was infrastructure-timing specific — not a direct read on cloud AI demand
• Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Capital at risk.

Frequently asked questions

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.