Earnings Blitz, Peace Hopes Provide Early Boost

Published as of: August 4, 2026, 9:15 a.m. ET

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(Tuesday market open) Wall Street tied a bow around recent gains and pushed toward record highs early after the latest round of solid earnings and amid hopes for improved transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Caterpillar (CAT) and McDonald's (MCD) became the latest firms to beat estimates this morning, and Qatar signaled progress toward a short-term deal between the U.S. and Iran, Bloomberg reported. Crude fell 2% and Treasury note yields also declined.

Following yesterday's impressive Palantir (PLTR) results, SpaceX (SPCX) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) wait in the wings to report later. "The concerns behind July's volatility in stocks related to the AI capex boom may not be resolved," said Michelle Gibley, director of international equity research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR). "Deleveraging of speculative trades last week may have eased some of the momentum pressure, but it's important to remember that stocks went parabolic heading into July and reacted negatively to earnings beats in the tech sector, suggesting elevated expectations."

On Monday, major indexes galloped to their best three-day performance since mid-June and approached all-time highs above 7,600 for the S&P 500 Index. Though Iran denied negotiations, hopes for progress played a role, judging by strong performance in consumer stocks that might benefit from falling gasoline and borrowing costs. Both oil and the 10-year yield remain well above pre-war levels, however, with growing concern about gasoline and diesel supplies due to war-related refinery damage.

• Jobs data parade starts with openings: Economic data this week is all about jobs, starting at 10 a.m. ET today with the June Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Analysts expect openings of around 7.45 million, down slightly from 7.59 million in May but still relatively healthy. Another number to watch is monthly quits, which can provide insight into competition for new employees. A higher quits number generally means more mobility and possibly rising wages. Back in May, just over 3 million people left their old jobs seeking greener pastures. Jobs data crescendos with Friday's July nonfarm payrolls report. Analysts expect 86,000 jobs created, up from 57,000 in June. Though low historically, such a figure would likely get a positive view from a macroeconomic perspective, especially combined with record-low initial jobless claims in recent weeks.
   
• Looking ahead to AMD, SpaceX: When AMD reports, investors seek evidence that heavy infrastructure spending translated into strong profits for the chipmaker. Any setback for AMD could affect the entire chip market, particularly AMD's main competitor, Nvidia (NVDA). Data center revenue, up 57% in the first quarter, is a key metric to watch after AMD called it the "primary driver" of revenue and earnings growth. Investors appear optimistic, sending shares of AMD up 4.7% early. Earnings from SpaceX come with shares down sharply since the June initial public offering (IPO). An insider lock-up expiration this Thursday that sends more shares into the market puts pressure on the company to soothe worries with earnings and guidance. The report gives investors a chance to dig deeper into financials, where the Starlink satellite business provides 60% of revenue even as the company spends heavily to up its AI game. Capital expenses will likely top $14 billion in the quarter, Reuters reported. Another thing to listen for is discussion from CEO Elon Musk about possible future tie-ups between SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA).
   
• Preparing for a new numbers boss: Everyone from Kevin Warsh to John Q. Investor is focused on the latest numbers out of Washington. But how much confidence can be placed in today's reports? Michael Townsend, managing director of legislative and regulatory affairs at Schwab, said this is a question he's heard frequently since last summer's ousting of Erika McEntarfer from her role as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Her dismissal came on the heels of a weak monthly jobs report. Since then, the agency has been led by an interim head who had been McEntarfer's deputy. "To his and the agency's credit," Townsend said, "the BLS has been consistently producing data that has neither caused the president nor the markets to believe the data is being manipulated in either direction to tell a particular story about the economy." The full Senate will soon vote on the nomination of Brett Matsumoto to lead the BLS full-time. Assuming he's confirmed, he'll head up an agency that Townsend says "needs to rebuild trust with the markets and with investors."

• Palantir surged 14% after reporting results late Monday that beat consensus and guiding for better-than-expected third-quarter revenues. It also raised its fiscal 2026 revenue estimate above the average Wall Street estimate and adjusted free cash flow guidance upward, citing growing AI demand.
   
• McDonald's got only a 1% lift from its earnings per share beat today, with revenues meeting estimates. Though global comparable sales at stores open a year or more rose 1.3% annually, U.S. comparable sales climbed just 0.8%, slowing from 3.9% in the first quarter. The company has warned that high gas prices are a headwind.
   
• Caterpillar shares, which vacillated over the last two weeks, climbed 10% early, lifted by the power and energy unit that reflects growing AI demand. Earnings per share nearly doubled from a year ago and exceeded estimates by $2. Sales of $20.5 billion topped the average analyst estimate of $19 billion. Caterpillar strength could push the Dow Jones Industrial Average up.
   
• Chip and AI-related stocks led the charge early today ahead of results tomorrow afternoon from Sandisk (SNDK) and Western Digital (WDC). Some of the names up sharply include Lumentum (LITE), Corning (GLW), Marvell Technology (MRVL), WDC, Sandisk, and Seagate Technology (STX). All rose 5% or more before the open.
   
• Snap (SNAP) jumped 4.5% early today after earnings and guidance topped estimates. In a statement, the company cited improving advertising momentum.
   
• Nike (NKE) lost 3% this morning after getting downgraded to underweight from neutral by JPMorgan Chase, which cited headwinds out of China potentially hurting the company's business. The company's "Win Now" action plan could also dent profits into fiscal 2028, the analyst said.
   
• Spotify (SPOT) dropped 4% as the company's guidance for users and operating income disappointed.
   
• Wayfair (W) soared almost 20% as earnings and guidance impressed. It expects high-single digit third quarter revenue growth. Analysts had expected 4.8% annually.
   
• Boeing (BA) soared 8% Monday after receiving Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for its 737 Max 7, a smaller jet with better fuel efficiency. Shares of Southwest (LUV), an airline expected to fly the plane soon, rose 4% on hopes improved efficiency can help margins.
   
• CoreWeave (CRWV) catapulted 19%, lifted by optimism around AI data center demand and by new partnerships that extend its services. CoreWeave reports earnings next week.
  
  Hyperscaler stocks Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Amazon (AMZN) advanced 4% to 6% Monday on tailwinds from recent earnings that showed evidence of AI return on investment.

Watch wage growth in Friday's payrolls: Potential tightness in the services sector of the economy could be helping spark wage growth, something to monitor in Friday's July nonfarm payrolls report. Any sign of labor market tightness could exacerbate the market's focus on the Fed's inflation-fighting credibility, noted Kevin Gordon, head of macro research and strategy at SCFR, in his latest Week Ahead video.

Transport stocks are often seen as indicative of overall economic strength or weakness. With major indexes approaching all-time highs, it's interesting to see transports ($DJT—candlesticks) down over the last week and below their 50-day moving average (blue line) for the first time since May. Market momentum appears lacking too, down from almost 70 at one point last month to below 38 yesterday in terms of the Relative Strength Index (RSI). Recent weakness in trucking and delivery stocks has taken a toll.

Check out the investors' calendar for a summary of the top economic events and earnings reports on tap this week.

August 5: July ADP employment change, July ISM Services PMI®, and expected earnings from Eli Lilly (LLY), Walt Disney (DIS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Shopify (SHOP), CVS (CVS), Uber (UBER), Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), and AppLovin (APP).
August 6: Preliminary second-quarter productivity and expected earnings from ConocoPhillips (COP), Cloudflare (NET), and Airbnb (ABNB). 
August 7: June nonfarm payrolls, hourly earnings, and unemployment rate. 
August 10: Expected earnings from Barrick Mining (B), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), and Ferguson Enterprises (FERG).
August 11: July existing home sales and expected earnings from Cardinal Health (CAH), Lumentum (LITE), CoreWeave (CRWV), and Super Micro Computer (SMCI).