Four earnings reports in one week: SpaceX, Netflix, Tesla, Meta, and what to look for

Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening, Thursday morning. On the market calendar, this is the week of the big reports.

(SEC EDGAR; Meta Investor Relations; Spotify/Finviz)

SpaceX, Q3 2026: revenue $14.575 billion, against $5.6 billion a year earlier (+161%). GAAP net income was a $4.404 billion profit, against a $1.054 billion loss a year ago. Starlink consumer subscribers: 13.6 million. (SpaceX, SEC filing, 20 October 2026) For comparison: in its first report on 4 August (Q2), revenue was $7.814 billion.

Netflix, Q3 2026: revenue $12.874 billion (+12%), operating income $4.459 billion (+37%), operating margin 34.6%. The company expects Q4 revenue of $13.442 billion. (Netflix, SEC filing, 20 October 2026)

In a report, the table matters more than the headline. Illustration.

1. Press release or 10-Q? Companies usually publish a press release first (often as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K). That is a summary. The full quarterly report is the 10-Q: unaudited statements, notes, management's discussion and risk factors. (SEC)

2. GAAP or non-GAAP? GAAP figures follow accounting standards. Non-GAAP measures (such as "adjusted EBITDA") are defined by the company itself. SEC rules require the closest GAAP measure to be shown with equal or greater prominence, with a reconciliation between the two. (SEC, non-GAAP guidance) At SpaceX, adjusted EBITDA was $8.809 billion and GAAP net income $4.404 billion: they answer two different questions.

3. Guidance is the company's own outlook for the next period. It is a forward-looking statement, not a result. Netflix's Q4 figure above is guidance.

4. Consensus is the average of analyst forecasts compiled by data vendors. "Beat" or "miss" is always measured against it, and different vendors' consensus figures can differ. Press reports gave different expectations for SpaceX.

5. The earnings call is where management comments on the numbers and answers analysts' questions.

Large US companies must file the 10-Q within 40 days of the quarter's end, others within 45 days. In 2026 the SEC proposed letting companies opt for a semiannual report instead; whether that has been adopted, we did not check. (SEC, Release 33-11414; Harvard Law School Forum, 18 May 2026)

Tesla, Meta and Spotify had not published their numbers when this article was written. We did not check the consensus figures.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Sources: SEC EDGAR, SEC guidance, Meta IR, Finviz, Harvard Law School Forum (2026).