#GOOG #TSLA #IBM #T #NFLX π
πΌ Q2 2026 earnings: five companies, five different bets on AI
July 22 saw four tech giants report on the same day - Netflix closed its books a week earlier. Here's how all five measured up against consensus:
1οΈβ£ Alphabet (GOOG) - Cloud is monetizing AI right now
π’ EPS: consensus $2.91 β actual $9.11 (+213% beat)
π’ Revenue: $116.98B β $119.80B (+24% YoY)
π’ Google Cloud +82% YoY - real, operating AI revenue
π’ Caveat: $98B of the EPS figure is paper securities revaluation (not operating income)
2οΈβ£ Tesla (TSLA) - Delivery record, margin collapse
π’ EPS: $0.54 β actual $0.33 (-39% miss)
π’ Revenue: $26.49B β $28.24B (+26% YoY)
π’ 480,126 vehicles - a Q record; price cuts ate all the profitability
π’ Operating margin dropped to 1.4% (4.1% a year ago); FCF: -$1.09B
3οΈβ£ IBM - Stable, not growing
π’ EPS: $2.93 β $2.93 (in-line)
π’ Revenue: $17.26B β $17.16B (-0.6%)
π’ Z mainframe and tx software sales dragged the quarter
π’ FY guidance: +4-5% constant currency; actual YoY revenue growth: 1%
4οΈβ£ AT&T (T) - The quiet winner of the day
π’ EPS: $0.59 β $0.65 (+10% beat)
π’ Revenue: $31.81B β $31.56B (-0.8%)
π’ FCF $4.7B; stock +5% on earnings day
π’ 1M+ new Advanced Connectivity customers; 2026 FCF guidance: >$18B
5οΈβ£ Netflix (NFLX) - Strong margin, guidance killed the stock
π’ EPS: $0.79 β $0.80 (in-line)
π’ Revenue: $12.58B β $12.56B (+13% YoY)
π’ Operating margin: 33.4% - among the best in the sector
π’ Q3 guidance: $12.86B vs consensus $13B β stock -9% on earnings day
β¨ In the AI cycle, the winner is whoever has cloud infrastructure already generating revenue. Alphabet showed it this quarter. Everyone else is still catching up.
β‘οΈCrouton.digital | About usβ¬ οΈ
πΌ Q2 2026 earnings: five companies, five different bets on AI
Alphabet is already generating AI revenue today. Tesla is promising it while destroying its margin. Same quarter, two completely different stories - and three more that round out the picture.
July 22 saw four tech giants report on the same day - Netflix closed its books a week earlier. Here's how all five measured up against consensus:
1οΈβ£ Alphabet (GOOG) - Cloud is monetizing AI right now
π’ EPS: consensus $2.91 β actual $9.11 (+213% beat)
π’ Revenue: $116.98B β $119.80B (+24% YoY)
π’ Google Cloud +82% YoY - real, operating AI revenue
π’ Caveat: $98B of the EPS figure is paper securities revaluation (not operating income)
2οΈβ£ Tesla (TSLA) - Delivery record, margin collapse
π’ EPS: $0.54 β actual $0.33 (-39% miss)
π’ Revenue: $26.49B β $28.24B (+26% YoY)
π’ 480,126 vehicles - a Q record; price cuts ate all the profitability
π’ Operating margin dropped to 1.4% (4.1% a year ago); FCF: -$1.09B
3οΈβ£ IBM - Stable, not growing
π’ EPS: $2.93 β $2.93 (in-line)
π’ Revenue: $17.26B β $17.16B (-0.6%)
π’ Z mainframe and tx software sales dragged the quarter
π’ FY guidance: +4-5% constant currency; actual YoY revenue growth: 1%
4οΈβ£ AT&T (T) - The quiet winner of the day
π’ EPS: $0.59 β $0.65 (+10% beat)
π’ Revenue: $31.81B β $31.56B (-0.8%)
π’ FCF $4.7B; stock +5% on earnings day
π’ 1M+ new Advanced Connectivity customers; 2026 FCF guidance: >$18B
5οΈβ£ Netflix (NFLX) - Strong margin, guidance killed the stock
π’ EPS: $0.79 β $0.80 (in-line)
π’ Revenue: $12.58B β $12.56B (+13% YoY)
π’ Operating margin: 33.4% - among the best in the sector
π’ Q3 guidance: $12.86B vs consensus $13B β stock -9% on earnings day
Alphabet and Tesla are the two poles of this earnings season. Google is converting AI into Cloud revenue right now (+82%); Tesla is selling AI as a future bet while price cuts erase its margin. AT&T quietly compounding cash.
Netflix posted excellent margins - but the market demands a growth trajectory, not a stability story.
β¨ In the AI cycle, the winner is whoever has cloud infrastructure already generating revenue. Alphabet showed it this quarter. Everyone else is still catching up.
β‘οΈCrouton.digital | About usβ¬ οΈ