By Angela Palumbo

The long weekend is a welcome reprieve for tech investors as they get ready for what's sure to be another busy few days.

Wall Street is coming off a volatile week of trading. As earnings results kept rolling in, investors also reacted to the U.S. losing its top credit rating from Moody's, rising treasury yields, major announcements from some of the largest tech companies, and trade updates from President Donald Trump.

The S&P 500 ended the week down 2.6% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.5%.

For tech investors, the highlight came from announcements by Microsoft at its Build conference and Alphabet at its Google I/O event. Microsoft investors were mostly focused on the company highlighting its artificial intelligence agents, while Google shareholders celebrated the introduction of AI Mode into search to compete with gen-AI chatbots.

Wall Street has also been closely watching Apple stock, which dropped 7.6% this week. Shares fell 2.3% on May 21 after ChatGPT-parent OpenAI said that it was buying a start-up owned by Jony Ive, Apple's former chief design officer, for $6.4 billion. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the acquisition was based on the mission of figuring out how to create a family of devices that would allow people to use AI "to create all sorts of wonderful things." For Apple investors, that brings new concerns about competition, though

Apple stock then declined 3% on Friday after Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones sold in the U.S. unless the devices are made in the states.

The coming week will bring earnings back to the forefront. Wall Street is anticipating first-quarter financial results and commentary from AI darling Nvidia on Wednesday. Investors will want updates on how chip demand is doing in an uncertain economic environment, and they'll want to hear how trade and regulatory decisions may be impacting the company.

Personal computer companies HP Inc. and Dell Technologies will also be reporting their latest financial results on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Electronic products are currently exempt from the Trump administration's so-called reciprocal tariffs, but that's not expected to last.

Software company Salesforce will report earnings on Wednesday. Software results have generally been strong this latest earnings season, with executive teams providing better-than-expected outlooks, as enterprises continue to spend on AI initiatives. Salesforce investors will also be looking for updates on the M&A front, following a report on Friday that Salesforce and Informatica were back in talks regarding a possible acquisition.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

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May 25, 2025 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)

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