Earnings are the heartbeat of the market, and every week brings a fresh set of opportunities and risks.
With each report, we get new information on corporate health, investor sentiment, and where money is rotating.
In the Weekly Beat, we spotlight the most important earnings reactions from the prior week: the winners, the losers, and the surprises that moved markets.
Then we shift our focus to the week ahead, breaking down the technicals and fundamentals.
Whether it’s mega-cap leaders, niche growth stories, or the sectors most tied to the economy, we’ve got you covered on what traders need to know right now.
There were no S&P 500 earnings reactions to cover, so we highlighted a materials name that has our attention.
Olympic Steel $ZEUS is a classic under-the-radar materials name that is often overlooked until market forces compel investors to pay attention. And right now, investors are paying attention... The stock just had its best earnings reaction since 2015, and it's ripping to new 52-week highs.
Again, there were no S&P 500 earnings reactions to cover, but we heard from one of our favorite Indian tech stocks.
Sify Technologies $SIFY is quietly becoming one of the most important digital infrastructure stories in India, and the technicals suggest a fresh leg higher is beginning.
Following a double miss, Citi $C sank by more than 3%, snapping a 4-quarter beat streak. The long-time CFO, Mark Manson, announced this was his final earnings call. The transition to a new CFO is underway.
After beating headline expectations across the board, Bank of America $BAC fell nearly 4% for its worst earnings reaction since 2020. The report was good, but expectations were too high.
The asset management behemoth, BlackRock $BLK, crushed the market's expectations and had its best earnings reaction since Q4 2022. The company announced a 10% increase in the 2026 dividend per share and expanded share repurchase authorization to 7M additional shares.
Following a double beat, Morgan Stanley $MS rallied nearly 6% for its best earnings reaction since Q4 2024. Total client assets reached $9.3T, with net new assets over $350B and significant expansion in Wealth, Institutional Securities, and Investment Management.
What's happening next week 👇
Next week, we'll hear from several market bellwethers, including GE Aerospace $GE, Johnson & Johnson $JNJ, 3M $MMM, and D.R. Horton $DHI.
We'll also be watching:
The entertainment behemoth, Netflix $NFLX.
The energy services giants Halliburton $HAL and Schlumberger $SLB.
Financials including Interactive Brokers $IBKR, Charles Schwab $SCHW, and Capital One Financial $COF.
The aluminum and copper giants Alcoa $AA and Freeport-McMoRan $FCX.
And more!
There will be plenty of earnings reactions to unpack next week in the Daily Beat. Stay tuned...
Before we get into the setups we're watching next week, let's talk about the earnings reactions from financials so far this quarter.
Last week kicked off earnings season with a loud, uneven thud.
Some of the largest financial institutions in the world opened their books, and the market’s reaction was anything but uniform.
On one hand, we saw massive beatdowns for household names like JPMorgan $JPM, Bank of America $BAC, and Wells Fargo $WFC.
JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank, posted a reaction score of -2.45, nearly twice as bad as last quarter. That’s not the kind of message you want to see from the center of the global financial system.
At the same time, the capital market names told a very different story.
BlackRock $BLK and Morgan Stanley $MS received strong, constructive reactions, signaling that investors remain comfortable with asset managers and trading-heavy platforms even as traditional lending models face pressure.
In short, the early read from earnings season is a mixed bag: pockets of strength, but also some clear warning signs beneath the surface.
Looking ahead, the spotlight now shifts to a set of true bellwethers across healthcare, industrials, and housing.
Johnson & Johnson $JNJ, GE Aerospace $GE, 3M $MMM, and D.R. Horton $DHI are all set to report this week, and together they offer a broad read on the health of the real economy.
Johnson & Johnson reports on Wednesday before the market opens, with consensus expectations calling for $24.15B in revenue and $2.47 in earnings per share.
Heading into the report, JNJ is ripping to new all-time highs, a clear sign of investor confidence.
When stocks break out ahead of earnings, the bar is often raised, but it also tells us the market is already leaning bullish.
Historically, that optimism hasn’t always been rewarded.
Looking at Johnson & Johnson’s earnings history, the company almost always beats headline expectations, yet the stock has been punished more often than rewarded over the past three years.
Something significant changed last summer.
In July 2025, JNJ delivered its best earnings reaction since July 2023, signaling a shift in earnings sentiment.
While the October 2025 report failed to generate upside follow-through, the current technical setup suggests conditions are different this time.
With JNJ trading at all-time highs and trend, momentum, and relative strength all aligned, the odds favor a constructive reaction if the company clears the bar.
Next up is GE Aerospace, which is expected to report before the open on Thursday.
The market is looking for $11.19B in revenue and $1.43 in earnings per share.
From a technical perspective, this chart says almost everything you need to know.
GE has finally broken above its 2000 peak and is ripping to new all-time highs, completing a multi-decade base that spans an entire generation of investors.
Yes, the stock has already come a long way since the 2020 lows, but nothing about this chart suggests exhaustion. Trend, momentum, and relative strength all remain firmly bullish.
When we turn to the earnings snapshot, General Electric's strength becomes even clearer.
Earnings per share growth stands out in a big way as the key financial metric has surged over the past three years.
One consistent feature in GE’s history is positive pre-earnings drift, as investors position ahead of results.
Post-earnings drift has been more muted, but in the context of a fresh all-time high breakout, even a modestly positive reaction could be enough to keep the trend firmly intact.
3M reports Tuesday before the market opens, with expectations set at $6.01B in revenue and $1.80 in earnings per share.
Ahead of the report, MMM is pressing up against a resistance level that has held for years. This makes the upcoming report particularly important, as earnings could be the catalyst that finally resolves this long-term consolidation.
Like many mature industrials, 3M almost always beats headline expectations, but those beats haven’t consistently translated into positive stock reactions.
What’s different now is the underlying growth profile. After nearly three years of negative revenue and earnings growth, the company has returned to top- and bottom-line growth in each of the past two quarters.
The market clearly noticed...
Last quarter’s earnings reaction was the best we’ve seen in years.
If that strength carries through this report, the stock has a clear path to break out to new multi-year highs and complete the massive base it has been carving since 2018.
If MMM fails to rally, it likely needs more time to digest the sharp advance we’ve seen since early 2024.
We finish the week with D.R. Horton, which also reports on Tuesday before the open. Expectations are for $6.59B in revenue and $1.93 in earnings per share.
As the largest homebuilder in the United States, DHI offers a clean read on housing demand and affordability.
Technically, the stock is consolidating above a former resistance level that has recently flipped into support. That leaves the price vulnerable to short-term downside, but as long as that support holds, the path of least resistance is sideways.
The earnings snapshot tells a more challenging story.
Revenue and earnings growth have been deeply negative for five consecutive quarters, and the market response has reflected that reality.
Three of the past five earnings reactions have been negative.
One exception stands out: July 2025, when DHI delivered its best earnings reaction in years.
However, bulls were unable to build on that momentum in October, and without a clear inflection in growth, it’s hard to argue the stock is ready for a sustained breakout.
For now, decelerating fundamentals remain consistent with a chart that’s churning sideways rather than starting a new leg higher.
As earnings season unfolds, the market's message remains nuanced.
Leadership is narrowing in some areas, while former laggards are catching significant bull market rotation.
This week’s earnings reports will help define whether the next phase of this market is driven by expanding confidence or growing selectivity.
We hope you enjoyed this post!
-The Beat Team
P.S. Q3 earnings are in. Here are the takeaways, and how we identified them.
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