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 Tuesday's Beat Sheet was the $55B discount store stock, Target $TGT. Following a mixed earnings report, shareholders were rewarded with a +4.18 reaction score.
TGT reported $30.45B in revenue, missing the expected $30.46B, and earnings per share of $2.44, crushing the expected $2.16.
The reaction to the Best Buy $BBY earnings results also stood out to us.
At the bottom of Tuesday's list was the $61B specialty retail stock, AutoZone $AZO. After posting mixed earnings results, shareholders received a -3.54 reaction score.
AZO's revenues came in at $4.27B, missing the expected $4.31B, and earnings per share of $27.63, beating the expected $27.15.
Let's talk about what else happened 👇
TGT snapped a 5 quarter beatdown streak🔥
Target had a +6.7% post-earnings reaction, and here's what happened:
Non-merchandise sales grew over 25% year-over-year, with membership revenue more than doubling over the same period.
Gross margin improved due to a 90-basis-point reduction in inventory shrinkage.
In addition to the strong quarter, the management team issued strong guidance across the board for 2026.
We highlighted this earnings report in the latest Weekly Beat column, noting that the stock had been punished for five consecutive earnings reports and six of the last seven.
Additionally, the company had posted negative bottom-line growth for five straight quarters and negative top-line growth for four.
As a result, earnings sentiment was firmly in a bearish regime, and the stock was at depressed valuations.
However, we also pointed out that the price had returned to a key long-term level of interest. It's the kind of level where major reversals can begin.
And sure enough, this quarter confirmed that the stock is in the early stages of an epic turnaround story.
With TGT trading at new 52-week highs and earnings sentiment now serving as a tailwind, we believe the path of least resistance is higher for the foreseeable future.
AZO had its 5th consecutive negative earnings reaction🩸
AutoZone had a -6.3% post-earnings reaction, and here's what happened:
While net sales increased 8.1% year-over-year, diluted EPS decreased by 2.3% over the same period.
Driving the decline in earnings was a 137-basis-point decline in gross margin.
Doing little to ease this quarter's pain, the management team issued mediocre forward guidance.
For decades, this has been one of the steadiest secular leaders in the market. Seriously, zoom out on this chart...
However, over the past 5 quarters, there has been a clear negative shift in earnings sentiment.
And now, we're seeing the technicals begin to confirm the bearish fundamentals as the price appears to be in the later stages of a prolonged distribution pattern.
Until we see a significant improvement in the earnings sentiment, we want to avoid AZO.
Thank you for reading,
-The Beat Team
P.S. Here at the Beat Report, we identify the best fundamental and technical trends in the market.
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