Apple Faces Crucial Test as Tech Confidence Wavers

WHO:

Bloomberg Markets - Jordan Jackson, Global Market Strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, discussed the AI selloff and expected market moves after midterms.

Fast Company - Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), the iPhone maker, was preparing to report its quarterly results; John Ternus was the new CEO, and Kevan Parekh was the chief financial officer. Ternus replaced Tim Cook at the beginning of September.

Yahoo Finance - AMD (AMD) was scheduled to report third-quarter results; Intel (INTC) was its rival. AMD’s businesses include Data Center, Client, and gaming.

WHAT:

Bloomberg Markets - Disappointing U.S. megacap earnings accelerated a rotation out of AI-related technology stocks, producing a sharp selloff as investors shifted toward smaller-cap and defensive areas. Jackson called the AI selloff “overblown.”

Fast Company - Apple was set to report Q4 financial results after the closing bell. Its Q4 ended on September 30 and also closed its fiscal year. Analysts’ consensus estimates were $113.46 billion in total revenue, $2.00 EPS, $56.48 billion in iPhone revenue, $31.58 billion in Services, $9.69 billion in Mac, $8.99 billion in Wearables, and $6.83 billion in iPad revenue.

Fast Company - Apple reported $102.46 billion in Q4 2025 revenue and $1.85 EPS for that quarter. Apple’s Q4 2027 guidance would cover the holiday-sales quarter.

Fast Company - Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max during Q4, saving the updated iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 for Q3 next year. Its foldable iPhone Duo was announced during Q4 but went on sale in October, so it did not contribute to Q4 revenue.

Fast Company - Apple’s stock was up nearly 27% for the year as of Friday’s close. Nvidia was up less than 10%, Microsoft 8%, and Amazon just over 4%; Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla were down about 11%, 11%, and 6.8%, respectively. Apple closed with a market capitalization above $5 trillion, becoming the second company ever to do so.

Yahoo Finance - Intel reported better-than-anticipated Q3 earnings but forecast Q4 revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, below analysts’ $17 billion projection; Intel stock fell nearly 29%.

Yahoo Finance - Analysts expected AMD Q3 EPS of $1.97 on $13 billion in revenue, compared with $1.20 EPS and $9.2 billion revenue in the same period last year. Data Center sales were forecast at $8.19 billion, up 88% from $4.34 billion. Client revenue was projected above $3.06 billion, up 11% year over year and flat sequentially. Gaming revenue was forecast to fall 49% to $655 million.

WHERE:

Bloomberg Markets - The selloff involved U.S. megacap technology stocks.

Fast Company - Apple’s financial call was scheduled for 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET.

WHY:

Fast Company - Investors were concerned about negative free cash flow at Google and Amazon, driven largely by AI data-center capital expenditures. AI-related developments also weighed on Reddit and Intel shares.

Fast Company - Apple’s AI-related costs included higher memory prices; analysts wanted an update on the effects of component costs.

Yahoo Finance - Intel attributed its weaker outlook to a worse-than-anticipated PC-market decline. Difficult comparisons followed Microsoft ending Windows 10 support, which prompted enterprise purchases of newer Windows 11 systems; rising PC prices also reduced demand.

Yahoo Finance - Higher memory and storage prices were depressing demand for gaming products, including PC graphics cards and custom console silicon.

HOW:

Fast Company - Investors were watching the effects of Apple’s staggered iPhone launch on sales, September comparisons, early iPhone Duo sales, AI’s business impact, component costs, and guidance.

Fast Company - Apple had refrained from heavy investment in AI data centers, unlike Google and Amazon.

Yahoo Finance - AMD’s Helion reference design, announced the previous month, was a server rack configurable with AMD CPUs and GPUs to meet customer needs.

(UPDATED November 3, 2026 01:09 UTC)

Megacap earnings disappointments sparked a sharp selloff in AI-related technology stocks. JPMorgan strategist Jordan Jackson called the decline overblown. Intel shares plunged after its revenue outlook missed expectations, while investors awaited Apple and AMD results.