Wells Fargo, Citi, Netflix, J&J, and More Stocks to Watch This Week

(Barron’s)

The S&P 500 closed marginally lower last week ahead of the start of earnings season, which will put the furious equity rally of the past three months to the test.

Despite a flurry of tariff-related headlines, investor reaction was muted, unlike in April, as Wall Street has become comfortable with the TACO trade.

Financials make up half of the 38 S&P 500 companies slated to report quarterly results this week, including nine of the 10 largest banks by asset. Citi group, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo will release earnings on Tuesday, followed by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group, and Morgan Stanley on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp will announce results on Thursday, and America Express and Charles Schwab will close out the week, reporting earnings on Friday.

Outside the financial sector, other megacap companies reporting include Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday, and GE Aerospace and Netflix on Thursday.

The consumer price index for June will be the key economic data of the week; it will be released on Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS will also release the producer price index on Wednesday, while the Census Bureau will report retail sales data on Thursday and housing starts on Friday.

Monday 7/14

Fastenal reports second-quarter earnings.

Tuesday 7/15

Albertsons, Bank of New York Mellon, BlackRock, Citigroup, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, JPMorgan Chase, Omnicom Group, State Street, and Wells Fargo release quarterly results.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for June. Economists forecast a 2.6% year-over-year increase, two-tenths of a percentage point more than in May. The core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, is expected to rise 2.9%, compared with 2.8% previously.

Wednesday 7/16

ASML Holding, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group, Johnson & Johnson, Kinder Morgan, Morgan Stanley, M&T Bank, PNC Financial Services Group, Progressive, Prologis, and United Airlines Holdings announce earnings.

The BLS releases the producer price index for June. Consensus estimates are for a 2.5% rise year over year for the PPI and a 2.7% increase for the core PPI. This compares with 2.6% and 3%, respectively, in May.

The Federal Reserve releases the beige book for the fifth of eight times this year. The report gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions from its 12 regional banks.

Thursday 7/17

Abbott Laboratories, Cintas, Citizens Financial Group, Elevance Health, Fifth Third Bancorp, GE Aerospace, Interactive Brokers Group, Marsh & McLennan, Netflix, Novartis, PepsiCo, Snap-On, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Travelers, and U.S. Bancorp hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results.

The Census Bureau reports retail sales data for June. The consensus call is for a 0.1% month-over-month increase, after a 0.9% decline in May. Excluding autos, sales are expected to increase 0.3%, following a 0.3% drop previously.

The National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index for July. Economists forecast a 33 reading, one point more than the June figure. The index tracks homebuilders’ sentiment on the state of the housing market, with readings below 50 indicating pessimism about the near-term outlook.

Friday 7/18

3M, American Express, Charles Schwab, Huntington Bancshares, Regions Financial, SLB, and Truist Financial report earnings.

The Census Bureau reports new residential construction data for June. Consensus estimate is for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million privately-owned housing starts, 44,000 more than in May.

The University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment index for July. The consensus call is for a 61.5 reading, slightly higher than the June data. Consumer expectations of the year-ahead inflation was 5% in June, down from a four-decade high of 6.6% in May.

Write to editors@barrons.com