# Meta, IBM and Tesla Earnings Put AI Spending Returns in Focus By John Kim Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/36831 Published: 2026-10-21T16:25:13.000Z Updated: 2026-10-21T16:25:13.000Z Section: Business > Wednesday's results will put advertising growth, enterprise AI orders and automotive profits under scrutiny as investors assess each company's investment plans. Meta, IBM and Tesla are due to release third-quarter results Wednesday, giving investors a fresh test of whether their businesses can support major investments in artificial intelligence and related projects. Meta's earnings call begins at 4:30 p.m. ET (20:30 UTC), followed by IBM at 5 p.m. ET (21:00 UTC) and Tesla at 5:30 p.m. ET (21:30 UTC). Each company is expected to release results before its call. The reports put different parts of each business in focus. Investors will watch whether Meta's advertising growth can cover rising computing costs and whether IBM can turn enterprise AI orders into software and services revenue. At Tesla, the question is whether automotive profits and companywide cash flow can support investment in autonomous driving and robotics. Options markets had priced implied moves of 7.0% for Meta, 7.3% for IBM and 6.3% for Tesla as of Oct. 21. The earnings add a near-term test to investor questions about [profits and AI spending](). ## Links in this article - [profits and AI spending](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/35494)