Earnings season is the heartbeat of the market, and every day brings fresh signals about where money is flowing.
With each report, we learn not just how companies are performing, but how investors are reacting.
In the Daily Beat, we spotlight the most important S&P 500 earnings moves from the prior session: the winners, the losers, and the reactions that reveal what really matters to the market right now.
Whether it’s a bellwether with broad economic implications or a niche name making waves, we cut through the noise to focus on the setups that matter most.
Here are the latest earnings stats from the S&P 500 👇
*Click the image to enlarge it
At the top of Thursday's Beat Sheet was the $28B asset management stock, Northern Trust $NTRS. Following a big double beat, shareholders were rewarded with a +2.8 reaction score.
The company reported $2.14B in revenues, beating the expected $2.06B, and earnings per share of $2.42, beating the expected $2.37.
At the bottom of the list was the world's largest medical devices stock, Abbott Labs $ABT. After posting mixed results, shareholders were punished with a -7.70 reaction score.
Revenues came in at $11.46B, missing the expected $11.80B, and earnings per share of $1.50, which was in line with market expectations.
Let's talk about what else happened 👇
NTRS had its best earnings reaction in 6 quarters🔥
Northern Trust had a +6% post-earnings reaction, and here's what happened:
During the quarter, the top-line increased by 9% year-over-year, and net interest income surged 14% over the same period.
Assets under custody/administration surged 11% year-over-year to $18.7T. Over the same period, assets under management rose 12% to $1.8T.
While the management team expects revenue and net interest income growth to slow in 2026, its forward guidance remains quite impressive.
In late 2025, this stock put the finishing touches on a textbook multi-year accumulation pattern and printed fresh all-time highs.
Now that earnings sentiment is changing significantly, the price is entering escape velocity.
In other words, you have the technicals and fundamentals confirming that the path of least resistance is higher for the foreseeable future.
Based on this, we expect NTRS to outperform its peers this quarter.
ABT had its worst earnings reaction of the 21st century🩸
Abbott Labs had a -10% post-earnings reaction, and here's what happened:
During the quarter, sales increased by 3.8% year-over-year (excluding Covid-19 testing). What's more, operating earnings surged 17.8% over the same period.
On the flip side, nutrition and diagnostics sales declined year-over-year by 8.9% and 3.5%, respectively.
After posting mixed results, the management team issued forward guidance that calls for mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2026. They also expect 10% earnings growth over the same period.
While this wasn't a blockbuster earnings report by any means, we didn't expect Mr. Market to respond this badly.
Not only did the stock have its worst earnings reaction of the 21st century, but the price decisively broke below key technical levels.
It was a devastating blow to the bulls!
We expect ABT to need a significant period of time to repair this damage. In the meantime, it will likely underperform its peers.
Happy Friday!
-The Beat Team
P.S. Q3 earnings are in. Here are the takeaways, and how we identified them.
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