Bank of America statistics show that over 140 significant events will impact tech stock performance in the remaining four months of this year.

According to trading desk reports, Bank of America stated in its September 2nd report that artificial intelligence continues to be the industry's most important theme, with major tech companies building models, developing agent functionalities, and integrating new features into existing products. Mid-sized internet companies are benefiting from access to AI models and capabilities from cloud service providers, leveraging their extensive customer data advantages.

Google's Department of Justice search case ruling will be the most significant near-term catalyst. This ruling could impose major restrictions on Google's search distribution business or help remove significant obstacles to stock price performance.

Meta's upcoming Connect conference is expected to showcase new smart glasses with display capabilities and outline its AI vision. Amazon will host the AWS re:Invent conference in December, with investors anticipating new infrastructure capacity to accelerate cloud service revenue growth and maintain optimism about 2026 AI spending.

There is a slight possibility of a new agreement between OpenAI and Microsoft, which could bring OpenAI models to AWS and Google Cloud platforms.

Regulatory Rulings Emerge as Major Catalysts

Google's DOJ search case ruling has been identified by Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the most important near-term catalyst.

The latest ruling results show that a US federal judge ruled that Google can retain its Chrome browser but will be prohibited from signing exclusive contracts and must share search data. This ruling was interpreted by the market as a major victory for Google, with parent company Alphabet's stock surging over 8% in after-hours trading.

Beyond the search case, Google also faces potential risks from Play Store policy changes.

In October 2024, a US district judge required major adjustments to Google's Android app store policies, though the judge also approved a temporary injunction to address Google's appeal. If the appeal fails, it could face the emergence of new app stores and pressure on app commission rates.

AI Product Launches Become Key Focus

Meta's Connect conference will be held on September 17th, with the market currently expecting the company to announce its first smart glasses with integrated displays, codenamed "Hypernova," with a base price of approximately $800. The company will also outline its AI vision during the CEO's keynote presentation.

For Google, the company may publicly launch consumer AI agents in the second half of the year, including Project Astra and Project Mariner.

Astra is designed as a cross-device multimodal assistant providing real-time context and proactive task execution, while Mariner integrates into Chrome and search to complete multi-step online tasks.

Amazon's AWS will host the re:Invent conference from December 1-5, expected to focus on AI products and features, including Bedrock and progress in Trainium/Graviton partnerships with customers. This event is viewed as an important window for assessing 2026 AI-related demand.

Reddit is developing technology to provide and monetize search functionality, with the launch of search advertising potentially driving revenue expectations higher. Pinterest is rolling out new AI tools like Performance+, aimed at helping advertisers optimize ad creation, delivery, and bidding to drive bottom-funnel performance.

E-commerce and Economic Shifts

In the e-commerce sector, US retailers' e-commerce sales growth accelerated in the second quarter, with July data showing third-quarter sales benefiting from accelerated online shopping relative to offline. Strong third-quarter performance is expected to support optimism for fourth-quarter holiday shopping, despite risks of sales being pulled forward into 2025.

In autonomous driving, Uber's expansion of autonomous vehicle partnerships becomes a key focus. The company is expected to launch services in Arlington in the fourth quarter through its partnership with May Mobility and expand cooperation with Waymo in Atlanta.

DoorDash is expected to complete its acquisition of Deliveroo in the fourth quarter, a deal anticipated to give DoorDash the largest market share in London. Tesla's robotaxi expansion is viewed as a potential threat to Uber and Lyft.

Online Travel and Other Segments

In the online travel sector, Airbnb's winter release event is expected to introduce new host services, potentially becoming the biggest catalyst for the industry. Expedia is positioned to benefit from improvements in US travel data.

In gaming and advertising technology, AppLovin will open Axon Ads Manager on an invitation-only basis starting October 1st, which should enable faster attraction of long-tail e-commerce merchants during the holiday shopping season. The company's e-commerce advertising products will also open supply in multiple international markets.

Unity will focus on Vector's sequential improvement in the third quarter, with deviations from the guided approximately 10% quarter-over-quarter growth potentially leading to recalibration of 2026 growth expectations.