3 Tech Stocks to Watch During Earnings Season

Key Points

• Nvidia is charging into its next quarterly report with a full head of steam.

• Analysts expect Roblox's revenue to grow 31%.

• A sector up cycle and AI advancements could improve Advanced Micro Device's value proposition.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

Tech investors are likely bracing for volatility as companies report earnings over the coming weeks. Big names are slated to report and give watchers a look at what's moving companies, industries, and the economy, and three Motley Fool contributors think tech investors may want to focus on reports from the following companies.

Image source: Getty Images.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Recent events bode well for Nvidia's stock momentum

Justin Pope (Nvidia -- Aug. 27): AI chip leader Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is a must-watch when earnings season comes around.

The stock has surged on continued AI-driven growth, making Nvidia the world's largest company by market capitalization as I write this in July 2025. A glance at the company's growth over the past few years reveals just how much AI has altered its trajectory, and the trillion-dollar question is whether AI tailwinds can sustain this performance.

As I look around, the signs continue to indicate that the answer is yes.

Companies throughout the AI landscape continue to show strong momentum and set high expectations for the future. For instance, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing recently reported a strong quarter, including an increase in its full-year growth outlook. Meanwhile, Alphabet just reported in its Q2 earnings that cloud revenue grew by 32% year over year, and it is increasing its planned capital expenditures for this year by another $10 billion as it leans further into AI.

To top things off, Nvidia recently announced that it planned to soon be allowed to resume selling its H20 chips to China after the U.S. government had barred those sales earlier this year. Additionally, Nvidia announced a new RTX PRO GPU that is fully compliant with export controls. The government's restriction on H20 sales earlier this year resulted in a $4.5 billion inventory write-off in Q1 for Nvidia and reduced Q2 sales guidance by $8 billion. If the export bans are lifted, that would be a welcome boost to Nvidia.

The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 55, which could prove to be a solid buy-in level in hindsight if the company achieves 29% annualized earnings growth over the long term, as Wall Street analysts anticipate.

Can Grow a Garden deliver for Roblox?

Jake Lerch (Roblox -- July 31): My choice is Roblox (NYSE: RBLX). There's a strong case to be made that Roblox's earnings report -- due on July 31 -- is among the most anticipated on Wall Street. Here's why.

The company's stock is up 105% year to date, driven higher by the massive popularity of one of Roblox's games, Grow a Garden. Indeed, Grow a Garden has set multiple records in recent months, including the all-time record for concurrent users, with over 21 million players. That figure blew away the prior record of 14 million, set by Fortnite.

So, with a smash hit on its hands, expectations are high for Roblox. But can the company live up to them?

According to consensus estimates compiled by Yahoo! Finance, sell-side analysts predict Roblox will generate $1.25 billion in revenue for the second quarter (the three months ending on June 30), representing year-over-year growth of 31%.

If the company can match or beat revenue expectations, it would largely justify the stock's massive rally so far this year. Moreover, Grow a Garden could be the catalyst that transforms Roblox from a promising -- but unprofitable -- company to one that can consistently turn a profit.

RBLX Operating Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts

That's why I'll be watching two key figures when Roblox reports: revenue growth and operating margin.

As noted above, if the company can match or beat the 31% projected revenue growth, that's a bullish sign. Similarly, if Roblox can improve its operating margin, that would also be great news for bulls. It's been more than three years since Roblox posted an operating margin of better than -24%. Any improvement in that regard would be a major positive sign.

Roblox stock has surged thanks to the success of Grow a Garden. Now, it's time to see whether its big hit is impacting the company's bottom line.

AI-driven anticipation may influence the results for this chip stock

Will Healy (Advanced Micro Devices -- Aug. 5): This earnings season, one stock I will be following closely is AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), which reports on Tuesday, Aug. 5, after the market closes that day.

AMD's situation looks significantly different than when the company released its Q1 results on May 6. That was right after the selling following Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcements depressed its stock price. Since that time, investors have learned more details about the company's MI400 AI accelerator and Helios rack-scale solution, scheduled for release next year.

Obviously, those will not have a direct impact on the chip stock's latest financials. However, the data center segment, which designs AI chips, has become the company's largest segment and is often the fastest-growing part of the company. Also, many analysts have speculated that the MI400 will become a worthy competitor to Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin platform, which, if true, could bring considerable gains to AMD shareholders.

Additionally, even with the solid performance of AMD's client (PC) segment, revenue declines in the gaming and embedded segments have reduced growth in recent quarters. However, revenue drops have become less pronounced in the gaming segment, and AMD reported only a modest revenue decline for the embedded segment in Q1.

That bodes well for the upcoming report, and consensus analyst estimates point to revenue of $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2025. That would amount to a 27% increase, down from 36% in Q1, but well above the 9% rise in the year-ago quarter.

While its 116 P/E ratio may appear high, anticipated profit improvements have brought the forward P/E ratio looking at estimates down to 40, a relatively low level for a fast-growing tech stock. Assuming the Q2 report aligns with the growing optimism in AMD stock, it could continue its upward march back to its record high and beyond.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,063,471!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025

Jake Lerch has positions in Alphabet, Nvidia, and Roblox and has the following options: long July 2025 $150 calls on Advanced Micro Devices. Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Will Healy has positions in Advanced Micro Devices. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Nvidia, Roblox, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.