Big Tech's AI bill comes due while oil decides to cosplay a rollercoaster 🎢

Four Big Tech giants are set to report second-quarter earnings this week, putting their soaring AI infrastructure spending under fresh scrutiny from investors. SK Hynix also delivers its first results since a record Nasdaq debut, and Apple chief executive Tim Cook holds his final earnings call before stepping aside. The reports arrive a day before the Federal Reserve's Wednesday rate decision, with markets already pricing in a possible hike.

Microsoft and Meta report Wednesday. Analysts expect Microsoft to raise its 2026 capital expenditure forecast toward $238 billion, a figure that will test whether spending discipline can offset rising memory chip costs. Meta faces separate scrutiny, with investors having grown skeptical of its AI outlays and rotating capital toward Google instead. Alphabet's cloud unit grew 82% last quarter, a benchmark Wall Street now wants Meta to match.

Apple closes an era Thursday, reporting alongside Amazon in Tim Cook's final earnings call as chief executive. Analysts expect revenue near $108.9 billion, per MarketBeat estimates. The company has leaned on a capital-light AI approach, avoiding the outsized spending pressuring rivals, and hit an all-time high close of $333 on July 24.

SK Hynix reports Tuesday, its first earnings since a record Nasdaq debut. Consensus points to 84.1 trillion won in sales, per Yonhap Infomax, which would set a new operating profit record. The report follows a volatile month that included a post-listing selloff and a KOSPI rebound past 7,000.

Brent crude's climb past $100 a barrel, followed by a slide of more than 7% as hostilities eased in the Middle East, adds another variable to an already crowded week. Investors are now juggling four earnings reports, a Fed decision and a commodities market that has swung sharply in both directions.