Earnings Week Ahead: META, TSLA, NFLX, LRCX, GE, PG

Who reports the week of October 19 to October 23, 2026?

Earnings season gets its first big tech test the week of October 19 to October 23, 2026. GE Aerospace is scheduled to report before the market open on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with Netflix after the close that day. Meta Platforms, Tesla and Lam Research all report after the close on Wednesday, October 21, and Procter & Gamble wraps it up before the open on Thursday, October 22.

Together these six carry about $4.5 trillion in market value. Dates can still move until each company confirms them. All prices below are as of the close on Friday, October 16, 2026.

One gap: Chart Equity's earnings feed hadn't posted a consensus for the quarters being reported as of Sunday, October 18, 2026. So the best guide is each company's recent record against estimates.

Where does the market stand going in?

Not in a great mood. The S&P 500 closed at 7,659.44 on Friday, October 16, 2026, down 1.95% for the week, per Chart Equity's data. That's a soft backdrop for a week loaded with high-expectation names, so misses could get punished harder than usual.

Reuters reported on October 16 that Wall Street tumbled as worries about the AI trade and high oil prices weighed. A day later, Yahoo Finance's Chart of the Day was titled "Wall Street's record breakouts unravel as investors dump recent winners." Keep that one in mind for Lam Research.

For context on the recent rotation, see our breakdown of the week tech fell while staples rallied.

What does Meta need to show on Wednesday?

Meta needs a clean quarter. It earned $6.18 a share last quarter against a $7.19 consensus, a 14.0% miss, and its beat streak is zero. The business underneath still looks strong, with revenue up 28.0% in the latest quarter and a 34.8% trailing operating margin. The question is whether earnings stop swinging.

Look at the path. The quarter before that miss, Meta posted $10.44 against $6.70, a 55.8% beat. A year ago, it reported $1.05 against $6.72. That's the most erratic EPS record on this list, and the quarterly figures don't break out what drove each swing. So watch whether revenue growth holds near 28% and margins stay near 35%.

The chart shows how unusual the recent swings are against the longer trend. As of the close on October 16, the shares sat at $709.33, down 0.4% over the past year. Analysts are still on board: 55 rate it a Buy, and their average target of $814.51 sits about 15% above the price.

Can Tesla's profits catch up to its valuation?

Not yet, on these numbers. Tesla grew revenue 25.5% in its latest quarter, but its trailing operating margin is just 1.4%. That's why the stock trades at 328.4x trailing earnings and 163.6x forward. Every dollar of sales returns almost nothing at the operating line right now.

Tesla designs, makes and sells electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems. Last quarter it earned $0.33 a share against a $0.53 consensus, a 38.1% miss, and it has missed in two of the last four reports. Here's the thing: at 163.6x forward earnings, the margin has to move, not just revenue.

Wall Street is split. Hold ratings (21) outnumber Buys (19), with 4 Sells, the most divided panel of the six. The shares closed at $354.72, down 17.3% in a year, against an average analyst target of $397.83. The free Stock Audit on Tesla lays out valuation and profitability side by side.

Is Netflix priced for trouble after a 40% drop?

The valuation suggests the market expects a lot less than the margins deliver. Netflix closed at $70.53, down 40.4% over the past year, yet it runs a 33.4% trailing operating margin and trades at 18.6x forward earnings, the lowest forward multiple in this group. It reports after the close on Tuesday, October 20.

The entertainment company offers series, films, documentaries, games and live programming worldwide. It has beaten three straight quarters, most recently $0.80 against $0.79. But outside one big quarter the beats have been thin, and the year-ago quarter was a miss: $0.59 against $0.70.

Revenue grew 13.4% last quarter. Check that first. If growth holds with margins intact, 18.6x forward looks like a big discount to the rest of this list. Analysts' average target of $91.39 is about 30% above the close.

Can Lam Research keep beating after an 85% run?

It's been beating, but the bar has moved. Lam Research is up 85.4% over the past year, the best performer here by far, and has topped the consensus four quarters running. EPS climbed from $1.26 a year ago to $1.82 last quarter, about 44% growth.

Lam designs, makes and services semiconductor processing equipment used to fabricate integrated circuits. Revenue grew 30.0% in the latest quarter on a 37.4% operating margin. The forward P/E of 22.4x is less than half the 45.8x trailing figure, so analysts expect earnings to keep climbing fast.

That's where it gets interesting. With investors dumping recent winners, a modest beat may not be enough. Lam's beats have run from 3.3% to 8.5%, so anything below that range could read as a slowdown. Analysts aren't worried: 29 Buys, 6 Holds, zero Sells.

What do GE Aerospace and P&G bring to the week?

Steadiness, in very different doses. GE Aerospace has beaten by 8.6% to 16.3% in each of the last four quarters, while Procter & Gamble's beats have been small, from 1.1% to 4.7%. Both carry four-quarter beat streaks, but GE is growing fast and P&G barely grew revenue last quarter.

GE Aerospace: Tuesday, before the open

GE designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines and systems through two segments, Commercial Engines & Services and Defense & Propulsion Technologies. Revenue grew 21.1% last quarter, and EPS reached $2.02 against $1.86. The catch is price: 34.4x forward earnings, barely below the 37.0x trailing multiple. Shares closed at $313.83, up 4.7% in a year.

Procter & Gamble: Thursday, before the open

P&G sells branded consumer packaged goods across five segments, from Beauty to Fabric & Home Care. Revenue grew just 1.5% last quarter, but the 22.1% operating margin keeps the machine steady. At $159.35, the stock sits only about 1% below analysts' average target of $161.65, and Holds (12) nearly match Buys (13). Solid, but not exceptional.

Watch how far Tesla sits from everyone else. Our guide to what the P/E ratio really tells you explains why one outlier multiple isn't always a red flag on its own.

What's next?

The first catalyst is GE Aerospace before the open on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, then Netflix after the close. Before each report, check the last quarter's EPS against the estimate, the latest revenue growth rate and the operating margin.

For Meta, the test is whether 28.0% revenue growth holds after a 14.0% miss. For Tesla, it's any move in that 1.4% margin. For Lam, it's whether the beat clears its usual range after an 85.4% run. Our explainer on earnings per share covers the basics, and last week's bank earnings preview shows how the season kicked off.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "before the open" or "after the close" mean for an earnings report?

It's when the company releases results relative to regular trading hours. A before-the-open report, like GE's and P&G's, gets priced in that same session. An after-the-close report, like Meta's, Tesla's and Netflix's, shows up first in after-hours trading, and the full reaction usually plays out in the next day's regular session.

What is an earnings beat streak?

It's the number of consecutive quarters a company has reported EPS at or above the consensus estimate. GE, Lam Research and P&G are each at four, Netflix at three, and Meta and Tesla at zero. A streak shows consistency, but it says nothing about the size of the beats, which is why P&G's small surprises and GE's larger ones read differently.

Why is Tesla's P/E so much higher than Meta's?

P/E divides the share price by earnings, so thin profits push the ratio up. Tesla's trailing P/E is 328.4x against Meta's 26.7x, even though Tesla's market value of $1.40 trillion is smaller than Meta's $1.81 trillion. The gap comes from profitability: Tesla's operating margin is 1.4%, while Meta's is 34.8%.

What's the difference between trailing and forward P/E?

Trailing P/E uses the last 12 months of actual earnings. Forward P/E uses analysts' estimates for the coming year. When forward is much lower, analysts expect earnings growth. Lam Research is the clearest case this week: 45.8x trailing versus 22.4x forward. GE shows the opposite, with 37.0x trailing and 34.4x forward, so less growth is baked in.

Which of these six stocks do analysts rate most favorably?

By rating counts, Lam Research has 29 Buys and no Sells, and Meta has 55 Buys out of 63 ratings. Tesla is the most divided, with more Holds than Buys. Analyst ratings are opinions with their own track records, so use them as one input alongside the business numbers, not as a verdict.