The major indexes are trading near record highs after the Fed’s rate cut fueled a rebound from a shaky start to September. Looking ahead at specific companies, October brings a major product launch from one of the Magnificent Seven and earnings reports from key companies in the tech, banking, and apparel industries.
Below, we look at five stocks that could lead market trends—and see big price movements—in October.
Tesla
Tesla (TSLA) will kick off October with third-quarter delivery data early in the month. But investors may watch another event even more closely: a robotaxi launch scheduled for Oct. 10.
The event, which CEO Elon Musk has said will be the most important moment for Tesla since it unveiled the Model 3 in 2016, will likely feature a prototype of the robotaxi model, dubbed “Cybercab.” It will also be an opportunity for the automaker to showcase its investments in artificial intelligence and its progress on full self-driving (FSD) software.
Analysts have speculated that Tesla stock could get a lift if the company offers aggressive estimates of how quickly it can roll out robotaxis, the size of the market, or its timeline for achieving unsupervised FSD.
Tesla stock has risen about 5% so far this year.
Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT) could set the tone for big tech earnings this quarter when it reports mid-month. While the company announced a date just yet, some market watchers expect that its earnings will drop after the bell on Oct. 22, the same day Google-parent Alphabet (GOOG; GOOGL) is expected to report.
Microsoft is one of four trillion-dollar tech companies—including Alphabet, Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META)—engaged in an expensive artificial intelligence arms race. Microsoft spent nearly $14 billion on property and equipment in the quarter ended June 30, a 55% increase from the same year-ago period. Much of that spending was on the chips, servers, and other equipment needed to run the company’s AI-powering data centers.
Big Tech’s spending spooked some corners of Wall Street, which fueled a string of dramatic tech sell-offs in July. Chatter about AI spending has since abated, but Microsoft and its big tech peers have, unlike the broader market, yet to fully rebound from their summer slump. (Still, Microsoft shares are up 14% this year.)
Microsoft’s upcoming report has the potential to recast the spotlight on big tech’s spending or give Wall Street a taste of the payoff the company has assured them is coming.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the world’s largest non-state-owned bank, could give investors a glimpse of what Fed rate cuts mean for American banks when it reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 11.
JPMorgan shares tanked in early September after one executive warned that net interest income (NII), the difference between what the bank earns on loans and what it pays on deposits, was likely to be lower in 2025 than previously forecast. That warning came just days before the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points, which it is expected to follow up with a string of cuts stretching into next year.
Lower interest rates will weigh on JPMorgan’s NII, but they will also take some of the pressure off borrowers who otherwise might have defaulted on loans.
Bank of America analysts think banks are better prepared to weather this rate-cutting cycle than any in recent memory. Plus, lower rates in the context of a soft landing—an outcome some economists say is looking increasingly likely—should spur loan demand, reinvigorate mortgage lending, and boost trading activity, all bonuses for banks.
The analysts, though, conceded that it’s easier to calculate how much rate cuts will reduce NII than how much they’ll boost revenue. JPMorgan’s quarterly results could shed some light on that trade-off and move the stock, which is up 24% since the start of the year.
Nike
Nike (NKE) will report results for the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year on Oct. 1. and it will be the shoe retailer’s last report before incoming CEO Elliott Hill takes the reins on Oct. 14.
The CEO transition marks the beginning of a new phase of Nike’s turnaround efforts. The company has been struggling for some time with sluggish sales in China, once considered its largest growth opportunity, and loss of market share to upstart rivals like On (ONON) and Deckers-owned (DECK) Hoka.
Nike shares had their worst day on record after its most recent earnings report in June when the company forecast sales would decline by 10% in the fiscal first quarter. The stock plummeted 20% that day and, even after rebounding slightly, are down some 18% this year.
As such, expectations aren’t exactly high heading into October’s report. Deutsche Bank analysts in a note on Thursday said they expect the company to reiterate its full-year guidance and indicate that sales declines had bottomed.
“We think a narrative of improvement will be well received,” they wrote, adding that Hill’s appointment gave them confidence the company would refocus on “product innovation, marketing/storytelling, and rebuilding wholesale partnerships.”
Intel
It has been a wild couple of months for chip giant Intel (INTC).
Once the world’s most valuable chipmaker, its shares have shed more than 50% of their value this year as disappointing demand for its foundry services and the high cost of developing AI chips have saddled the company with billions of dollars of losses.
Things have looked up a bit in recent weeks. Shares surged in mid-September after the company said it would restructure its foundry business. They were boosted just days later by reports of a possible acquisition by Qualcomm (QCOM) and a $5 billion investment from Apollo Global Management. had approached the company to discuss an acquisition.
In October, investors will be looking for more evidence that Intel has the funds, or can raise the funds, to sustain investments in its manufacturing business. Those funds could from the federal government, with which Intel is reportedly working overtime to secure $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding before the end of the year. And some investors may still be hoping for transformational M&A.