We have entered the thick of the 2026 Q1 earnings season, with a stacked earnings schedule led by many members of the beloved Magnificent 7 group.
Alphabet GOOGL and Meta Platforms META are among those scheduled to unveil quarterly results. Advertising revenue is a significant chunk of each company’s business and will undoubtedly be an important metric in the releases. Let’s take a closer look at what’s expected.
Meta’s Sales Growth to Accelerate?
Earnings and revenue expectations for the upcoming release have drifted higher modestly over recent months for META, a positive takeaway heading into the release. Solid growth is expected for the tech giant, with earnings forecasted to climb 4.4% on 31% higher sales. Notably, the forecasted sales growth rate reflects a big acceleration relative to recent periods.
Below is a chart illustrating META’s YoY sales growth rates on a quarterly basis. Please note that these are not actual sales figures.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Concerning Advertising revenue, the Zacks Consensus Estimate presently stands at $54.3 billion, suggesting a sizable 31% growth rate from the year-ago period. The tech titan has regularly exceeded our expectations for this metric as of late, with the most recent beat totaling roughly $1 billion.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Alphabet Keeps Beating Expectations
Both EPS and sales expectations for Alphabet have seen bullish revisions over recent months, rising modestly from near the beginning of February. Earnings are forecasted to fall 6% YoY, whereas sales are expected to see a strong 20.5% charge higher. Like META, the forecasted sales growth rate reflects an acceleration relative to recent periods, continuing an established trend we’ve seen since the end of 2022.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus estimate for Advertising revenue stands at $76.9 billion, nearly 15% higher than the year-ago mark of $66.9 billion. The company has continued to positively surprise concerning its advertising results, stringing together six consecutive beats.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Bottom Line
Earnings season kicks into a much higher gear this week, with a wide variety of companies scheduled to report quarterly results.
Among the bunch are two Magnificent 7 members: Alphabet GOOGL and Meta Platforms META. Their respective advertising results will be important metrics to watch in their releases, given the heavy top-line contributions, though it’s worth noting that each has yet to negatively surprise on the metric in years now.
