Alphabet and Intel will take center stage in the coming U.S. earnings week, giving investors fresh evidence on whether the artificial-intelligence boom can continue supporting corporate growth after a sharp selloff in semiconductor and other technology shares.

Google parent Alphabet is scheduled to release second-quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday, July 22. Intel’s earnings conference call is set for Thursday, July 23, at 2 p.m. Pacific time, according to the chipmaker’s investor-relations calendar. The two reports will address different parts of the AI economy: Alphabet is among the largest buyers and operators of computing infrastructure, while Intel is attempting to restore its position as a major supplier and manufacturer of advanced processors.

The timing has raised the stakes. U.S. chip stocks recorded their worst weekly performance in more than a year, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling nearly 10% and entering bear-market territory after declining more than 20% from its June peak, the Financial Times reported. The pullback spread across memory-chip makers, semiconductor-equipment suppliers and companies associated with the construction of AI data centers.

The recent losses suggest that strong demand alone may no longer be enough to satisfy investors. Markets are increasingly focused on how quickly enormous AI investments can produce revenue, free cash flow and durable profit margins. Companies that raise capital-spending forecasts without showing a corresponding improvement in business performance may receive a more skeptical response than they did earlier in the AI expansion.

Alphabet will be the first major U.S. hyperscale cloud operator to report during the new earnings wave. Its results will offer an early indication of demand for computing capacity used to train and operate AI models. Investors will watch Google Cloud revenue, operating income, customer commitments and management’s assessment of whether capacity constraints are limiting growth.

Advertising remains even more important to Alphabet’s overall financial performance. Search advertising must continue generating enough cash to support infrastructure spending while Google integrates generative AI into its core products. The central question is whether AI-enhanced search experiences increase engagement and commercial activity without reducing the number or value of advertising opportunities.

Analysts surveyed for an earnings-calendar compilation published by Kiplinger expect Alphabet to report earnings of $2.90 per share, up about 26% from a year earlier, on revenue of approximately $116.9 billion. Actual expectations can change before the announcement, and the market reaction may depend less on the headline figures than on cloud growth, operating margins and management’s spending guidance.

Alphabet also enters the report amid intensifying competition among U.S. and Chinese AI developers. Investors will seek updates on the Gemini model family, adoption by enterprise customers and developers, and the company’s ability to make AI services more useful across Search, YouTube, Workspace and its cloud platform. Commentary on the timing of new models could be particularly important after recent reports of product delays.

Intel’s report presents a different set of challenges. The Santa Clara, California-based company is trying to improve its product roadmap and manufacturing performance while controlling the heavy costs of operating semiconductor fabrication plants. Its results will be examined for signs that stronger server demand can offset uneven conditions in personal computers and other established markets.

Consensus estimates cited by Kiplinger call for Intel to report adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share, compared with a loss in the year-earlier period, on revenue of about $14.4 billion. Intel previously projected second-quarter revenue of between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. Investors will compare the final figures with that range and focus closely on the company’s forecast for the rest of the year.

Manufacturing execution may prove as important as current-quarter sales. Intel is spending heavily to advance its process technology and expand its contract-manufacturing ambitions. Management is likely to face questions about production yields, customer interest, factory utilization and the timetable for reducing losses in the foundry operation. Any delay or cost increase could revive concerns about how long the turnaround will require.

Data-center performance will offer another measure of Intel’s position in AI infrastructure. Although graphics processors have captured much of the attention surrounding generative AI, servers still require central processing units, networking products and other components. Intel must show that it can benefit from expanding data-center budgets even as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and custom chips designed by large cloud companies reshape the market.

The broader earnings calendar will help determine whether the recent market rotation away from AI-related shares has a fundamental basis. General Motors, 3M, Charles Schwab and Northrop Grumman are expected to report Tuesday. Wednesday’s schedule includes Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, Texas Instruments, GE Vernova and several financial and industrial companies. Intel will be joined Thursday by Comcast, American Airlines, Lockheed Martin, T-Mobile US, Union Pacific and other large employers.

American Express, Verizon, HCA Healthcare and Charter Communications are among the companies expected later in the week. Their results could provide additional information about consumer spending, travel demand, credit quality, health-care activity and household communications bills. Those reports may be especially significant if investors continue shifting toward companies whose earnings are less dependent on the AI capital-spending cycle.

The combination of technology results and reports from traditional industries will also test the durability of the U.S. economy. Strong bank earnings and pockets of resilience in transportation, health care and energy have recently contrasted with weakness in high-growth technology shares. Earnings guidance could indicate whether companies are becoming more cautious because of higher energy prices, geopolitical tensions, borrowing costs or changing consumer behavior.

For the AI trade, Alphabet and Intel will not provide a complete answer. Alphabet represents the companies financing and commercializing large computing systems, while Intel represents a manufacturer seeking a larger role in supplying them. Still, the reports will offer an important snapshot of spending discipline, infrastructure demand and the competitive pressures affecting both buyers and sellers of AI technology.

Investors are therefore likely to look beyond whether each company beats quarterly estimates. The more consequential signals will be Alphabet’s expected returns from AI investment and Intel’s evidence of operational improvement. Those assessments could determine whether the recent technology decline is treated as a temporary valuation reset or the beginning of a broader reassessment of the AI-led market rally.