S&P 500 earnings to put investor focus on tech, AI

NEW YORK - Investors will be looking for evidence that investment in artificial intelligence among S&P 500 companies is beginning to pay off as the reporting season progresses, despite the fact that analysts expect profit growth to decelerate from the previous quarter.

AI-related companies have dominated earnings since last year, and optimism over AI plans have helped to drive strong gains in the market. The S&P 500 is at record high levels and up roughly 21% for the year so far, with tech and communication services leading sector gains since Dec. 31. Shares of Meta Platforms jumped on Aug. 1, a day after it issued an upbeat sales forecast for the third quarter, signaling that digital-ad spending on its social media platforms can cover the cost of its AI investments.

"We continue to favor the semiconductor space and megacaps for AI exposure," she wrote, noting that she expects tech and AI companies to beat results for the quarter ended in September and also raise their outlooks. Still, company comments about consumer health will be scrutinized. "Lower front-end rates are more helpful to consumers than companies... So the Fed policy is more something that consumer-driven companies could benefit from," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.

Trick-or-treat! 11 best extended Amazon Prime Day deals on Halloween candy — save up to 53% on sweetsBaird Asset Management controlled Chautauqua Capital Management, a boutique investment firm, released the “Baird Chautauqua International and Global Growth Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The third quarter saw a significant rally in global equities markets, driven by robust stock performance from the U.S.

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