Thursday preview: Apple in the spotlight as tech earnings continue

(Sharecast News) - Apple will become the fourth member of the 'Magnificent Seven' to release quarterly results on Thursday, while Caterpillar, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin are among the other names slated to report. Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said it's a pivotal year for Apple, which is working to regain momentum after slipping behind the curve on AI.

"Early signs suggest the latest iPhone lineup is performing well, and markets are looking for 11% revenue growth in next week's first-quarter results, including a 13% lift in iPhone sales," he said. "Expectations for 2026 point to around 10% growth in iPhone sales, with a slowdown later in the year. That may prove conservative, but there's a lot riding on how compelling Apple's AI narrative becomes.

"The recently announced partnership with Alphabet gives Apple access to cutting‑edge language models via Gemini, raising the stakes ahead of an AI‑powered Siri launch in the coming months. Pressure is building for Apple to demonstrate a clear strategy and tangible progress on the AI front. The strength of the brand can keep customers upgrading for now, but patience won't last forever. Delivering meaningful AI features isn't optional."

Apple results are due after the closing bell and will follow numbers from Meta, Microsoft and Tesla on Wednesday.

In the UK, results are due from housebuilder Crest Nicholson, easyJet, Wizz Air, Lloyds, Rank and St James's Place.

Glencore will release a production report, Greencore and Hilton Foods will publish trading updates and 3i Group will give a Q3 performance update.

In Europe, Remy Cointreau, Deutsche Bank, SAP, Roche, Sanofi and Nokia are slated to report.

Thursday January 29

INTERIMS

ITM Power, Rank Group, Scancell Holdings

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

The Global Smaller Companies Trust

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

B.P. Marsh & Partners, Elixirr International , The European Smaller Companies Trust

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE

JPMorgan India Growth & Income, Primary Health Properties, Supermarket Income Reit, Tufton Assets Limited Npv

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Business Climate Indicator (EU) (09:00)

Consumer Confidence (EU) (09:00)

Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)

Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (09:00)

Industrial Confidence (EU) (09:00)

Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)

M3 Money Supply (EU) (09:00)

Services Sentiment (EU) (09:00)

Services Sentiment (EU) (10:00)

Q3

Wizz Air Holdings

FINALS

Hilton Food Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Patria Private Equity Trust

SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Reckitt Benckiser Group

AGMS

Adalan Ventures , Botswana Diamonds, Greencore Group (CDI), Hollywood Bowl Group, Jarvis Securities, Orcadian Energy, Renew Holdings, Schroder Asia Pacific Fund, Smiths News

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Alfa Financial Software Holdings , Alfa Financial Software Holdings , Alfa Financial Software Holdings , Greencore Group (CDI)

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Gooch & Housego, Hollywood Bowl Group, Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund, SSP Group , Tracsis, Victrex plc

Q1

easyJet