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.
The $87B super regional bank stock, PNC Financial $PNC posted a double beat and had its best earnings reaction in seven quarters. In the report, we learned that net income reached an all-time high, rising by a staggering 21% year-over-year.
On the flip side, the $36B asset manager, State Street $STT suffered its third consecutive negative earnings reaction after beating headline expectations. While the quarterly report was solid, the management team issued disappointing forward guidance.
Following a blockbuster earnings report, Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB had its best earnings reaction since Q2 2024. Total top-line and fee revenues hit all-time highs, and the management team issued strong forward guidance.
In reaction to a mixed earnings report, the market punished 3M $MMM shareholders with the worst earnings reaction since Q1 2024. It was an overall decent report, but the management team's forward revenue guidance was a big disappointment.
After crushing its headline expectations, Teledyne Tech $TDY ripped to a new all-time high with its best earnings reaction since 2008. The company's defense businesses remained robust, and short-cycle commercial businesses showed recovery, with most product families growing year-over-year.
Despite posting better-than-expected headline results, Netflix $NFLX suffered its third consecutive negative earnings reaction. Everything about this report was spectacular, but the market's expectations were too high.
Northern Trust soared to a new all-time high on the heels of a double beat and its best earnings reaction in six quarters. During the quarter, the top-line increased by 9% year-over-year, and net interest income surged 14% over the same period. Furthermore, the management team issued better-than-expected forward guidance.
Following a mixed earnings report, the world's largest medical devices stock, Abbott Labs $ABT suffered its worst earnings reaction of the 21st century. The company's revenue growth rate was significantly lower than the market anticipated.
What's happening next week 👇
Next week will be one of the biggest of this earnings season, and our attention will be focused on the mega-cap tech stocks, including Tesla $TSLA, Microsoft $MSFT, and Apple $AAPL.
We'll also be watching:
Tech stocks such as Meta Platforms $META, ASML $ASML, and Seagate $STX.
The energy giants Exxon Mobil $XOM and Chevron $XOM.
The telecom behemoths AT&T $T and Verizon $VZ.
Credit services bellwether Visa $V and American Express $AXP.
The world's largest healthcare plan provider Unitedhealth $UNH.
And more!
There will be plenty of earnings reactions to unpack next week in the Daily Beat. Stay tuned...
Now, let's talk about the reports that are front and center for us next week.
Tesla $TSLA reports on Wednesday after the market closes, with the market looking for $24.77B in revenue and earnings per share of $0.45.
Heading into the report, TSLA is coiling below a shelf of former highs, a level that has capped upside advances multiple times over the past several years.
Price has been compressing beneath that resistance, carving out a textbook accumulation pattern that suggests energy is building for a meaningful resolution.
This earnings report could be the catalyst that finally tips the balance.
However, the earnings backdrop helps explain why Tesla has gone nowhere for so long.
Over the past three years, Tesla's earnings sentiment has steadily deteriorated.
Revenue growth has slowed, and EPS growth has decelerated.
And despite positive one-day reactions after four of the past five earnings reports, the stock has suffered negative post-earnings drift in five consecutive quarters.
That disconnect, positive initial reactions followed by sustained selling, tells us investors remain hesitant to commit capital beyond the first impulse move.
Add to that negative pre-earnings drift in eight of the last nine quarters, and it becomes clear why TSLA has remained range-bound.
Until earnings sentiment improves sustainably, a durable breakout is unlikely, even if price flirts with one.
Microsoft $MSFT also reports on Wednesday after the market closes, with expectations of $80.28B in revenue and earnings per share of $3.91.
Technically, MSFT is at an inflection point.
After rolling over sharply from its summer 2024 highs, the stock is now trading right at a key former peak that has transitioned into a critical battleground.
From here, the tape could go either way.
A failed breakdown and quick reclaim of this level would resemble a classic bear trap and could trigger a fast move back toward the $500 area.
But if buyers fail to defend it, the stock risks another leg lower.
What makes the MSFT setup especially interesting is that the earnings data does not confirm the recent technical weakness.
Over the past three years, Microsoft has beaten headline expectations nearly every quarter, while delivering consistent revenue and earnings growth throughout the entire period.
Pre-earnings drift has been flat to positive for five consecutive quarters, and the stock has posted positive one-day earnings reactions in two of the past three reports.
In other words, earnings sentiment remains constructive, even as the price has struggled.
That divergence gives MSFT a bullish bias heading into this report, but as always, price will be the final arbiter of truth.
Finally, Apple $AAPL reports on Tuesday after the market closes, and expectations remain high at $138.38B in revenue and earnings per share of $2.67.
Despite the high expectations, AAPL enters this report in an extreme state of technical weakness.
Since late last year, the stock has been hit hard, moving lower in a straight line.
Momentum has collapsed alongside price, with the 14-day RSI hitting its lowest level this week since the Great Financial Crisis, a rare and sobering signal.
There’s nothing bullish about the trend itself.
However, price is now sitting at a level that matters.
Shares are testing a former resistance zone that successfully flipped into support last year, and that level also aligns with the 38.2% retracement of the entire advance off last April’s lows.
Structurally, this is a logical place for selling pressure to pause.
But logic alone does not stop downtrends.
If the 243 level fails to hold, AAPL is likely to have further downside toward the 215 area.
The earnings snapshot only reinforces the bearish case.
Despite beating headline expectations and growing both revenue and earnings, Apple has now been punished after five consecutive earnings reports.
That persistent post-earnings selling pressure reflects deeply negative earnings sentiment, and it aligns perfectly with the stock’s deteriorating technical profile.
Until we see a clear change, either in how the market responds to earnings or in the structure of the chart itself, AAPL remains a stock we approach with caution, not conviction.
Thank you for reading!
-The Beat Team
P.S. Q3 earnings are in. Here are the takeaways, and how we identified them.
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