Single-Stock ETFs in Focus as Big Tech Earnings Unfold

Earnings reports from major tech giants are in focus this week, with Meta Platforms META, Microsoft MSFT, Apple AAPL and Amazon AMZN set to announce results. These updates are expected to provide crucial insights into their future growth strategies, particularly around AI and infrastructure investments.

Except for Apple, these stocks have been key drivers of the market’s rally from the April lows to fresh all-time highs. Microsoft and Meta have each surged over 30% in the past three months, while Amazon is up 24%, underscoring strong investor confidence in their AI leadership. All three are heavily investing in data centers and infrastructure critical to powering large language models and other AI technologies.
 

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Apple, meanwhile, has been a notable laggard, gaining just 2% during the same period as it faces slowing device sales and investor skepticism over its AI roadmap.

As a group, the so-called “Magnificent 7” is expected to report a 14% year-over-year increase in second-quarter earnings on 11.9% higher revenues, highlighting the sector’s continued strength despite a mixed macro backdrop (read: Big Tech Earnings Coming Up: Spotlight on Mag 7 ETFs).

Microsoft

Microsoft is scheduled to report on July 30 after market close. Microsoft has an Earnings ESP of -0.64% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). According to our methodology, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Microsoft saw no earnings estimate revision over the past 30 days for the second quarter of fiscal 2025. Its earnings track record is impressive, with the four-quarter earnings surprise being 5.21%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates earnings growth of 13.56% and revenue growth of 13.88% from the year-ago quarter. 

The world's largest software company will continue to grow as artificial intelligence applications drive more cloud infrastructure usage. Microsoft's Azure cloud business is benefiting from the company's partnership with AI leader OpenAI.

Wall Street is clearly bullish on the world's largest software company heading into the results, raising the target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised its price target to $545.00 from $515.00, citing that the company’s momentum in Azure and AI will continue to drive "durable double-digit top and bottom line growth.” Wedbush lifted the price target to $6000. According to Wedbush, the company "is just hitting its next phase of monetization on the AI front," thanks to the adoption of Copilot, its chatbot and the cloud-computing platform Azure (read: ETFs to Surge as Microsoft Tops $3.5T, Reclaims Top Spot).

T-Rex 2X Long Microsoft Daily Target ETF MSFX and Direxion Daily MSFT Bull 2X Shares MSFU seek to track two times the performance of the stock of Microsoft. MSFU is slightly cheaper, charging 99 bps in annual fees, while MSFX has a 1.05% expense ratio.

Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms will also report second-quarter 2025 earnings on July 30 after market close. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.91% and a Zacks Rank #1. The social media giant saw a positive earnings estimate revision of five cents for the second quarter over the past seven days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the yet-to-be-reported quarter indicates substantial year-over-year earnings growth of 12.98%. Revenues are expected to increase 14.77% year over year. Meta Platforms delivered an earnings surprise of 17.30%, on average, in the last four quarters. 

Meta’s AI strategy now serves as the backbone of its business transformation. The company has now committed $60-70 billion in capital expenditure for this year, with the lion’s share earmarked for AI infrastructure. This includes cutting-edge data centers like Prometheus and Hyperion, as well as the deployment of NVIDIA’s Grace Hopper Superchip. These bold investments are already delivering results across Meta’s platforms. The 30% adoption of Advantage+ is driving a 5% boost in Reels conversion rates. AI-driven recommendations have lifted time spent on Facebook by 7% and on Threads by a remarkable 35%. Instagram Reels engagement is up 24%, fueled by improved algorithmic personalization.

The world’s largest social media platform projects revenues in the range of $42.5-$45.5 billion for the second quarter. 

As such, single-stock ETFs targeting META have been in focus. GraniteShares 2x Long META Daily ETF FBL and Direxion Daily META Bull 2X Shares METU are the two available options. Both funds track two times the performance of Meta Platforms stock. META is slightly cheap, charging 95 bps in annual fees, while FBL has a 1.15% expense ratio. 

Apple

Apple has an Earnings ESP of +3.52% and a Zacks Rank #3. Apple saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a penny over the past 30 days for the fiscal third quarter of 2025. The iPhone maker has a strong track record of positive earnings surprises. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 4.68% in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a modest year-over-year increase of 1.43% for earnings and 3.67% for revenues.

On the last earnings call, the iPhone maker guided “low to mid-single digit” sales growth for the fiscal third quarter. Chief executive Tim Cook warned that Apple is likely to face a $900 million headwind as a result of tariffs. He added that it is “very difficult” to predict beyond June due to uncertainties surrounding the U.S.-China trade policy. 

Apple is scheduled to report on July 31 after market close. Investors seeking exposure to Apple ahead of its earnings could consider T-Rex 2X Long Apple Daily Target ETF AAPX, GraniteShares 2x Long AAPL Daily ETF AAPB and Direxion Daily AAPL Bull 2X AAPU. The trio tracks 200% of the daily percentage change of the common stock of Apple. AAPB is costlier, charging a high expense ratio of 1.65% while AAPX has an expense ratio of 1.05%. AAPU charges 89 bps in annual fees from investors. 

Amazon

Amazon will also release its results on July 31 after market close. The stock has an Earnings ESP of +7.37% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a penny over the past seven days for the second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a year-over-year earnings increase of 8.13% and substantial revenue growth of 9.67% for the to-be-reported quarter. Additionally, Amazon’s earnings surprise history is impressive, with the four-quarter average surprise being 20.68%. 

Amazon continues to dominate the e-commerce business and is expanding its footprint in cloud computing, advertising and various other sectors. The world's largest online retailer projected revenues of $159-$164 billion for the second quarter of 2025. Blockbuster Prime Day Event sales are likely to boost revenues for the company (read: 5 ETFs to Profit From Amazon's Longest-Ever Prime Day Event). 

Like other tech companies, Amazon is ramping up investments in data centers, chips and the power needed for AI workloads. It is also investing in its own computer chips and those developed by NVIDIA. However, CFO Brian Olsavsky, on the last earnings call, issued a cautious outlook due to uncertain consumer demand in the face of President Trump's shifting tariff policies. 

Direxion Daily AMZN Bull 2X Shares ETF AMZU tracks two times the performance of Amazon shares, charging 87 bps in annual fees. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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