AI's massive investments face a major test as Meta, Tesla, and IBM release earnings densely tonight.

BlockBeats news, October 21, Beijing time tomorrow morning, Meta, IBM, and Tesla will hold their third-quarter earnings conference calls at 04:30, 05:00, and 05:30 respectively, with financial reports to be released before the meetings.

All three companies face the soul-searching question of how much profit massive AI investments can bring. Meta needs to prove whether advertising growth can cover expanding computing power expenditures; IBM needs to convert enterprise AI orders into software and service revenue; Tesla must answer whether the profits and cash flow generated by its automotive business can support long-term investments in autonomous driving, robotics, and more.

Before the earnings reports, Wall Street options markets have priced in about 7% two-way volatility for the three companies, and some tech stock investors have begun increasing downside protection. However, large on-chain funds have not formed a consistent direction: Meta saw tens of millions of dollars in long position increases, IBM trading was relatively quiet, and Tesla reduced holdings as prices rose.

Institutions hedge in advance, actual market moves may be more severe

According to pre-earnings statistics from EarningsWatcher, Meta, IBM, and Tesla this