ii Tech Focus: earnings forecasts, Davos, space stocks
With US tech still a hot sector, ii’s head of investment brings you the latest news, most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform, and forecasts for upcoming results.
23rd January 2026 10:31
by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images).
Tech voices at Davos
Politicians and business leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, this week for the World Economic Forum (WEF). While US President Donald Trump’s address was the most talked about moment of the forum, there were other notable headlines for tech investors.
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Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s CEO Satya Nadella said: “GDP growth will be directly correlated” with the cost of artificial intelligence (AI). When asked about whether AI is in a bubble he said, “If all we are talking about are the tech firms…then that’s a bubble.” He added: “For this not to be a bubble, by definition it requires that the benefits of this are much more evenly spread,” suggesting that industries from healthcare to education should enjoy the benefits of AI, not just the tech giants.
NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s CEO Jensen Huang said the build-out of data centres will create “six-figure salaries” for plumbers, electricians and construction workers. Huang said: “Salaries have gone up nearly double…Everybody should be able to make a great living.”
Meanwhile, Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei dealt a blow to Nvidia. Speaking to Bloomberg he said selling advanced AI chips to China is a “big mistake” and has “incredible national security implications.” He said: “I think this is crazy. It’s a bit like selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.”
Netflix
It has been a busy week for Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX). It announced a fresh all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc Ordinary Shares - Class A (NASDAQ:WBD)’s studio and streaming assets in a deal still valued at $82.7 billion (£61 billion). If it clinches the deal, prized franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Batman and Superman will be handed over to Netflix. The streaming giant shifted from a cash and share deal to an all-cash offer as part of its attempt win the bidding war against Paramount Skydance Corp Ordinary Shares - Class B (NASDAQ:PSKY).
As it stands, Netflix is offering $27.75 per share in cash, allowing WBD to retain its cable-TV assets such as CNN. Whereas Paramount is offering $30 in cash to include the cable business. Paramount is likely to be deliberating whether to up its offer.
Elsewhere in Netflix news, it was the first major US tech company to report earnings on Tuesday night, and investors were underwhelmed with shares falling. On first glance, the numbers look good – it achieved Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of 56 cents and revenue of $12.95 billion, both ahead of expectations.
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However, its current-quarter forecast disappointed – it expects EPS of 76 cents a share, below estimates for 82 cents. Plus, it anticipates a 10% increase in spending on TV and films this year and a potential major outlay of $275 million if it secures the WBD deal.
According to Refinitiv, Netflix has a consensus buy recommendation from the analyst community with an average price target of $115.84.
15 most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform
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Source interactive investor, 12-14 January 2026.
Alongside regular favourites such as Nvidia, and Microsoft, space stocks including AST SpaceMobile Inc Ordinary Shares - Class A (NASDAQ:ASTS) and Rocket Lab Corp (NASDAQ:RKLB) have found themselves among the most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform so far this week.
AST SpaceMobile is “building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network”. It aims to deliver high-speed cellular broadband connectivity around the world, via its BlueBird satellites. Meanwhile, “Rocket Lab is an ‘end-to-end’ space company delivering reliable launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, satellite components, flight software, and more.”
Shares in AST SpaceMobile are up around 20% over the last month and 350% over the last year. Rocket Lab is up around 25% this year and 330% over the past nine months.
Rocket Lab shares are being snapped up by investors thanks to a vote of confidence from Morgan Stanley on 16 January when the bank upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, raising its price target sharply from $67 to $105, sending shares to a record high. Speaking about the development of its Neutron rocket, in an analyst note, Morgan Stanley’s Kristine Liwag said: “We see Neutron’s debut as a key catalyst for RKLB in early 2026, with current plans calling for Neutron to reach the pad in 1Q26 and launch shortly thereafter.”
Meanwhile, AST SpaceMobile’s shares soared on 16 January after it was awarded a contract for the US Missile Defense Agency’s Shield programme, part of President Trump’s Golden Dome strategy.
According to Refinitiv, AST SpaceMobile has a consensus hold recommendation among analysts, whereas Rocket Lab has a buy recommendation.
Week Ahead
US tech earnings season – Microsoft
The week ahead is shaping up to be a busy period for US tech investors, with results from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Meta, Microsoft and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Microsoft will deliver fiscal Q2 2026 earnings after the bell on Wednesday 28 January.
It is expected to deliver a slight decline in EPS to $3.96 versus $4.13 last quarter on revenue, which is expected to rise to $80.26 billion vs $77.67 billion in the prior period. Microsoft’s own Q2 revenue forecast is within the range of $79.5 billion to $80.6 billion.
Focus for investors will be on Microsoft’s intelligence cloud business, Azure, which has been at the heart of the AI frenzy. This division is expected to report revenue of $32.4 billion, versus $30.9 billion last quarter.
Investors will also be looking out for its quarterly capital expenditure and any potential guidance around future spending, as the tech giant continues to spend billions on cloud and AI infrastructure. Last quarter, Microsoft spent $34.9 billion on capex, outpacing forecasts. According to Bank of America, the five AI hyperscalers including Microsoft issued $121 billion in debt last year to fund their AI spending.
Shares have had a tough start to 2026 but are up by around 20% over the last nine months.
According to Refinitiv, there is a consensus buy recommendation from the analyst community with an average target price of $619.28, up by more than a third from the current share price.
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