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After a Flat-to-Lower Trading Day, Q2 Reports Hit the Tape
GOOGL Reported Nearly 4x Earnings Growth Year over Year
Tesla Missed Earnings by -34% in Q2
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
We’ve come to that point in earnings season where after-market-close reports begin to outshine those reported ahead of the open. Market indexes were flat-to-down on the regular trading session, with the Nasdaq shedding -146 points, or -0.57%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 slipped -27 points, -0.92%.
After-Market Earnings Reports at a Glance: GOOGL, TSLA, IBM & More
Search leader and tech conglomerate Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) set a very high bar on its earnings beat this afternoon, posting a positive surprise of +216% — $9.11 per share versus a consensus estimate of $2.87, and nearly 4x the $2.31 per share it reported a year ago. Revenues reported at $119.80 billion do not subtract traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which we here at Zacks do. Thus we see a $103.62 billion top-line, above the $101.28 billion forecast.
Cloud demonstrated +82% growth, $63.2 billion of which came from Search, +24.7% of which saw AI driving search query engagements. YouTube Ads brought in $11 billion for the first time in a quarter. However, this also marked the first quarter of negative free cash flow at Alphabet, -$5.8 billion, on capital expenditures totaling $44 billion. So while the AI trade continues its upward surge, it’s coming with a high price tag. As a result, shares are selling off -1% in late trading.
Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) , conversely, posted a big bottom-line miss in Q2: $0.33 per share versus $0.50 anticipated. Revenues improved nicely to $28.26 billion in the quarter, above the $25.81 million expected and +26% year over year. It also carries negative free cash flow as well, and shares are trading down -3% in after hours, adding to their -16.8% drop since the start of the year.
IBM (IBM - Free Report) managed to meet bottom-line expectations at $2.93 per share this afternoon, while revenues of $17.2 billion eked out a beat over the $17.17 billion Zacks consensus. Software gained +5% in the quarter, partly on Red Hat’s +11% gains. The tech giant also said it is “investing aggressively” into quantum computing going forward. Shares are up +2% in today’s after-market.
ServiceNow (NOW - Free Report) posted a +19% beat on its bottom line in Q2 today, with earnings of $0.97 per share outpacing the $0.86 estimate. Revenues of $3.99 billion easily surpassed the $3.92 billion in the Zacks consensus, and the software company increased its subscriber revenue outlook for the full year. Shares are up +3.66% in late trading, filling in some of the -37% crater in stock price year to date.
Texas Instruments (TXN - Free Report) stuck the landing on its Q2 results this afternoon, putting up earnings of $2.14 per share versus expectations of $1.91 — up +52% year over year. Revenues of $5.46 billion outpaced the $5.22 billion forecast, up +23% year over year. The Texas tech giant still has $2.74 billion in free cash flow. Shares have added +1% in late trading to their impressive tally +69.5% year to date.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Shutterstock
Big Afternoon for Q2 Earnings: GOOGL, TSLA & More
Key Takeaways
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
We’ve come to that point in earnings season where after-market-close reports begin to outshine those reported ahead of the open. Market indexes were flat-to-down on the regular trading session, with the Nasdaq shedding -146 points, or -0.57%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 slipped -27 points, -0.92%.
After-Market Earnings Reports at a Glance: GOOGL, TSLA, IBM & More
Search leader and tech conglomerate Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) set a very high bar on its earnings beat this afternoon, posting a positive surprise of +216% — $9.11 per share versus a consensus estimate of $2.87, and nearly 4x the $2.31 per share it reported a year ago. Revenues reported at $119.80 billion do not subtract traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which we here at Zacks do. Thus we see a $103.62 billion top-line, above the $101.28 billion forecast.
Cloud demonstrated +82% growth, $63.2 billion of which came from Search, +24.7% of which saw AI driving search query engagements. YouTube Ads brought in $11 billion for the first time in a quarter. However, this also marked the first quarter of negative free cash flow at Alphabet, -$5.8 billion, on capital expenditures totaling $44 billion. So while the AI trade continues its upward surge, it’s coming with a high price tag. As a result, shares are selling off -1% in late trading.
Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) , conversely, posted a big bottom-line miss in Q2: $0.33 per share versus $0.50 anticipated. Revenues improved nicely to $28.26 billion in the quarter, above the $25.81 million expected and +26% year over year. It also carries negative free cash flow as well, and shares are trading down -3% in after hours, adding to their -16.8% drop since the start of the year.
IBM (IBM - Free Report) managed to meet bottom-line expectations at $2.93 per share this afternoon, while revenues of $17.2 billion eked out a beat over the $17.17 billion Zacks consensus. Software gained +5% in the quarter, partly on Red Hat’s +11% gains. The tech giant also said it is “investing aggressively” into quantum computing going forward. Shares are up +2% in today’s after-market.
ServiceNow (NOW - Free Report) posted a +19% beat on its bottom line in Q2 today, with earnings of $0.97 per share outpacing the $0.86 estimate. Revenues of $3.99 billion easily surpassed the $3.92 billion in the Zacks consensus, and the software company increased its subscriber revenue outlook for the full year. Shares are up +3.66% in late trading, filling in some of the -37% crater in stock price year to date.
Texas Instruments (TXN - Free Report) stuck the landing on its Q2 results this afternoon, putting up earnings of $2.14 per share versus expectations of $1.91 — up +52% year over year. Revenues of $5.46 billion outpaced the $5.22 billion forecast, up +23% year over year. The Texas tech giant still has $2.74 billion in free cash flow. Shares have added +1% in late trading to their impressive tally +69.5% year to date.
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