Alphabet, Tesla and IBM Headline a Big Week of Earnings, With 88% of S&P 500 Reports So Far Beating Estimates

Second-quarter earnings season picks up steam this week. 77 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report, headlined by Alphabet and Tesla, according to CNBC. IBM, General Motors and CME Group also report, giving investors a broad read on tech, autos and financial markets in the same stretch.

The backdrop isn't pretty. Stocks took a hit last week on a semiconductor selloff and rising tension between Iran and the United States, CNBC reported. That's the environment these earnings are dropping into: nervous markets looking for any reason to sell or rally.

So far, the numbers look strong on paper. Of the roughly 50 S&P 500 companies that have already reported, 88% beat analyst earnings expectations, according to FactSet data cited by CNBC. That sounds impressive until you remember companies and analysts play this game every quarter, guiding expectations down so a "beat" is easy to manufacture. An 88% beat rate is good, but it's not some shocking economic signal on its own.

General Motors reports Tuesday, before the market opens

GM last quarter raised its 2026 guidance and topped Q1 earnings expectations, according to CNBC. This time around, LSEG data shows analysts expect GM's bottom line to have grown by more than 25%.

Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu, who has a buy rating on the stock, says his firm's channel checks show no change in consumer behavior or volume declines despite what he called "recent macro instability." That's one analyst's read, not a guarantee. Tariff policy, interest rates and consumer credit stress could all still bite auto sales later this year.

History is on GM's side in the short term: shares rose after each of the last three earnings reports, including a 15% jump after the company beat estimates in the third quarter, according to CNBC.

CME Group and IBM report Wednesday

CME Group, the exchange operator, reports before the bell, with earnings expected to have fallen slightly this quarter, per LSEG. The stock is down more than 14% over the past three months, according to CNBC, driven by investor worry over perpetual futures contracts, a newer product structure that could eat into CME's traditional futures and options business.

Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys is sticking with an overweight rating anyway. He argues 82% of CME's revenue comes from clearing and transaction fees, giving the company a strong moat regardless of what perpetual futures do to the broader market. CME has beaten earnings expectations in 21 of its last 22 quarters, according to Bespoke data cited by CNBC, a track record that gives Cyprys's bullish case some real weight.

IBM reports after the closing bell Wednesday. Analysts polled by LSEG expect earnings growth of more than 5%. That's a modest bar given IBM's last quarter: the company kept its guidance intact and shares dropped anyway, according to CNBC, and preliminary figures released more recently sent the stock plunging again. Investors will be watching whether IBM can finally deliver a report that doesn't disappoint, given a stock that's had a rough stretch heading into this print.

Alphabet and Tesla are the marquee names

CNBC's report doesn't detail specific analyst estimates for Alphabet or Tesla in the portion available, but both companies are among the week's most closely watched reports given their size and their outsized influence on the Nasdaq and S&P 500. Alphabet's ad business and cloud growth, and Tesla's delivery numbers and margins, will move markets regardless of what GM or CME does.

What matters most this week is guidance. Whether GM, CME, IBM, Alphabet and Tesla raise, hold, or cut their forward outlook will tell investors more about the back half of 2026 than whether they cleared an already-lowered bar.

The open question heading into Tuesday and Wednesday: does the Iran-U.S. tension and the semiconductor pullback that dragged stocks down last week bleed into how these companies talk about the rest of the year, or was that just a bad week that fades once the earnings take over the headlines.