Tech

Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures rise as Tesla, Meta, Microsoft diverge after earnings

Web Desk January 29, 2026

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Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures rise as Tesla, Meta, Microsoft diverge after earnings

Gains in US stock futures slackened on Thursday as investors digested the latest megacap tech earnings ahead of Apple’s report, while gold (GC=F) and oil (BZ=F) rallied amid fears of US military strikes on Iran.

Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) were both up roughly 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) nudged up above the flatline as stocks pared an earlier premarket advance that followed Wednesday’s muted performance.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is gearing up for another bid on topping 7,000 as Meta (META) shares surged over 8% in premarket, thanks to a surprisingly strong quarterly revenue outlook. The first of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps to report earnings also plans to spend up to $135 billion on its data center build-out this year, a boost to its push to win the AI race.

While that AI ambition was welcomed, Microsoft (MSFT) stock slid nearly 7% despite its higher-than-anticipated capital spending as investors reacted to a slowdown in quarterly cloud sales growth.

Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) gained over 2%, as a strategy shift from EVs to robots and a quarterly earnings beat outshone its first-ever decline in annual revenue. Investors are now gearing up for Apple’s (AAPL) quarterly earnings, due after the closing bell.

The tech cheers helped investors tune out an escalation in US-Iran tensions, stoked by President Trump’s warning to Iran that it must agree a nuclear deal quickly or be hit with military strikes. Crude oil futures climbed to build on Tuesday’s four-month high as US ships massed in the region. Gold surged, briefly topping a record $5,500 an ounce, as a declining dollar (DX-Y.NYB) added to the rush for shelter.

Wall Street is also digesting the Federal Reserve’s first monetary policy decision of 2026, in which it kept interest rates unchanged. Eyes are on updates on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders, and wholesale inventory figures on Thursday for clues to the economy to feed policy expectations.

Markets are pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts by the year’s end, per CME FedWatch, but an easing may not come before the end of Jerome Powell’s tenure in May. The watch is now on for an announcement from Trump of his pick as next Fed chair, which he has said will come soon.

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Caterpillar stock rises as power equipment sales lift profits

Caterpillar (CAT) stock rose 1.5% in premarket trading after its earnings showed it’s still a beneficiary of the AI data center build-out, but also that it expects to take another major hit from tariffs in 2026.

The construction and mining equipment maker reported an adjusted profit of $5.16 per share for the quarter, up from $5.14 ⁠per share a ‌year earlier. Revenue rose to $19.1 billion from $16.2 billion. Those figures were above Wall Street’s expectations of $4.71 earnings per share and revenue of $17.7 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The results were boosted by sales of power generation equipment to AI data center developers. Sales in Caterpillar’s power and energy segment rose 23% year over year to $9.4 billion.

“I think what often gets overlooked is that AI is really an industrial story,” Gabelli Funds portfolio manager Brian Sponheimer told Yahoo Finance. “As this data center rollout has happened, … it’s created structural demand for industrial-grade power solutions, and no company is really as well situated to drive that supply than Caterpillar.”

However, Caterpillar is still facing headwinds from higher tariffs. Reuters reported that Caterpillar warned of a $2.6 billion tariff impact in 2026. In the fourth quarter, operating profit fell 9%, largely due to unfavorable manufacturing costs.
Comcast sheds more broadband customers as wireless competition mounts

Media group Comcast (CMCSA) reported a loss in broadband customers in its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday. The decline missed analysts’ estimates and was driven by competitors offering consumers more cost-effective, aggressive offers.

The stock edged higher before the bell on Thursday.

Reuters reports:

Read more here.
Premarket trending tickers: Las Vegas Sands, Royal Caribbean and Whirlpool

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) stock fell as much as 10% during premarket trading. The casino operator’s adjusted earnings fell short of analyst expectations.

Royal Caribbean (RCL) stock rose 6% before the bell on Thursday after the cruise operator’s 2026 earnings guidance beat Wall Street estimates.

Whirlpool (WHR) stock sank 10% during premarket hours today after reporting an unexpected decline in sales.
SAP shares plunge after cloud backlog, guidance disappoint

SAP (SAP) stock fell 15% before the bell on Thursday after reporting a cloud backlog and posting disappointing guidance.

The German firm said its cloud preorders reached $25 billion, but it missed analysts’ estimates by about 1%. The delay has been blamed on a few “mega deals” that are taking longer to get up and running.

Reuters reports:

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Microsoft stock slips after Q2 earnings beat, cloud revenue tops $50 billion

Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell almost 7% before the bell as a solid quarterly earnings beat still left investors disappointed.

Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley reports:

Read more here.
Meta stock climbs after Zuckerberg says: ‘We are now seeing a major AI acceleration’

Shares in Meta (META) surged in premarket, up over 7% as investors welcome raised guidance for this year’s spending plans amid a Big Tech AI spending spree.

“We are now seeing a major AI acceleration,” Mark Zuckerberg stated on Meta’s earnings call late Wednesday.

That theme was consistent throughout Meta’s earnings call, as the CEO touted new AI models and products that the company is working on.

Zuckerberg said that since the beginning of 2025, Meta has seen a 30% increase in productivity from its engineers due to the adoption of AI coding tools. The power users of those tools have seen their output increase by 80%, Zuckerberg said.

“We’re starting to see agents really work,” he added. “This will unlock the ability to build completely new products and transform how we work.”

Read more here. on Meta’s earnings beat from Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley.
IBM stock surges as software revenue growth accelerates

International Business Machines (IBM) stock surged 8% in premarket trading on Thursday after growth in the company’s software business drove 12% revenue growth for the fourth quarter.

Revenue increased to $19.69 billion, beating forecasts of $19.21 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. Software revenue was up 14% in the quarter, Consulting revenue increased 3%, while Infrastructure revenue rose 21%.

IBM has focused on its Hybrid Cloud and Red Hat software platforms, which have been primary drivers of the stock’s 30% gain over the past year.

Earnings per share came in at $4.52, compared to estimates of $4.32.

Read more from Reuters.
Oil climbs from four-month high as Trump ramps up Iran threats

Oil rose for a third day, building on historic highs after President Trump told Iran it would face US military attacks if it failed to agree a nuclear deal.

Brent crude futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, moved up 2.4% to nearly $69 a barrel, coming off the highest close since September on Wednesday, Meanwhile, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) jumped 2.6% to above $64.

From Bloomberg:

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Asian shares mixed bag as region reacts to American Fed rate

Reuters reports:

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Gold holds above $5,500 as dollar sinks

Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferre reports:

Read more here.