The fourth quarter earnings season is picking up speed.

After several big banks reported last week, more financials will deliver results, with reports from Charles Schwab (SCHW) and regional banks like Fifth Third (FITB) on the schedule. But the attention will likely shift to Netflix (NFLX) and Intel (INTC), headlining the earnings calendar.

An optimistic consensus is forming: As of Jan. 16, 7% of S&P 500 (^GSPC) companies have reported fourth quarter results, according to FactSet data, and Wall Street analysts estimate an 8.2% increase in earnings per share for the fourth quarter. If that rate holds, it would represent the 10th consecutive quarter of annual earnings growth for the index.

Heading into the reporting period, analysts were expecting an 8.3% jump in earnings per share, down from the third quarter's 13.6% earnings growth rate. Wall Street has raised its earnings expectations in recent months, especially for tech companies, which have driven earnings growth in recent quarters.

Although Big Tech continues to set the tone, this earnings season promises to test the improved stock market breadth that has emerged at the start of 2026. Plus, the themes that drove the markets in 2025 — artificial intelligence, the Trump administration's tariff and economic policies, and a K-shaped consumer economy — will continue to provide plenty for investors to parse.

In addition to quarterly reports from Netflix and Intel, the earnings releases highlighting this week's schedule include United Airlines (UAL), 3M Company (MMM), D.R. Horton (DHI), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), GE Aerospace (GE), Procter & Gamble (PG), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), and Capital One (COF).

Oil services provider Halliburton (HAL) posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter, sending its shares up 2%.

The Houston-based company reported profits of $0.70 per diluted share, beating Wall Street estimates of $0.55 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Profits were flat from a year ago, when the company also posted earnings of $0.70 per share.

Revenue of $5.7 billion also came in stronger than the $5.4 billion estimated. It was also higher than the $5.6 billion in revenue reported a year ago.

Halliburton's revenue in its Completion and Production segment was roughly unchanged from a year ago at $3.3 billion, while revenue in the Drilling and Evaluation unit was $2.4 billion, also flat.

While the oil majors have shown reluctance in exploring Venezuelan oil following the US's removal of Nicolás Maduro (ExxonMobil's (XOM) CEO called it \\"uninvestable\\"), oil infrastructure companies like Halliburton have shown more eagerness to revisit the country.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the company has started looking at resumes for roles in the country, in a sign that Halliburton may be ready to reenter Venezuela.

Reuters reports:

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) on Wednesday forecast 2026 sales and profit ahead of Wall Street estimates, even when including a hit of \\"hundreds of millions of dollars\\" from ​the drug pricing deal it signed with the Trump administration earlier this month.

J&J is one of ‌16 big pharmaceutical companies that have reached agreements to lower U.S. drug prices in exchange for exemptions from Trump-imposed tariffs.

\\"We can't disclose ‌specific details, but it's hundreds of millions of dollars,\\" Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk said in an interview. \\"It's a credit to the team here that we were able to surpass what (analyst) expectations are for 2026 by a pretty sizable amount while digesting that impact.\\"

The company forecast 2026 operational sales of $99.5 billion to $100.5 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates ⁠of $98.9 billion, according to LSEG data.

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

TE Connectivity (TEL) projected second-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the ​electronic component maker banks on a surge in ‌demand for its AI-related tools and products.

The company forecast second-quarter adjusted profit ‌per share at about $2.65, compared with analysts' expectations of $2.63 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The growing global demand for AI-related tools and products has boosted investments in ⁠data centers and network ‌equipment, benefiting companies like TE.

First-quarter sales in the company's industrial solutions segment surged more than ‍38% year-over-year. The unit makes electrical connector systems and components for factory automation, and equipment used in data centers.

Read more here.

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) stock dipped in extended trading after beating expectations for the fourth quarter.

The online broker reported better-than-expected earnings per share of $0.63, compared to Wall Street estimates of $0.58 per share, as compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue rose to $1.64 billion, versus estimates of $1.63 billion.

Interactive Brokers benefited from a surge in trading activity during the final quarter of the year. The company reported that customer trading volume in options, futures, and stocks increased by 27%, 22%, and 16%, respectively, year over year.

The stock has started the year off strong, with an 11% gain since the beginning of 2026.

Listen to the earnings call here.

Netflix (NFLX) stock dropped more than 4% in after-hours trading as the company's fourth quarter earnings were closely scrutinized amid Netflix's bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

The creator of \\"Squid Game\\" and other popular shows said it would ramp up new content in the year ahead and pause its share repurchase program, given the M&A deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Netflix posted diluted earnings per share of $0.56, coming in ahead of Wall Street's forecasts of $0.55 per share. Revenue of $12 billion also beat estimates of $11.96 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

The company's operating margin declined slightly to 24.5% from 28.2% last quarter but increased from Q4 2024. For the current quarter, Netflix guided for an operating margin of 32.1%, which was a bit lighter than the Street expected.

Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports:

The company also disclosed that it now has more than 325 million members worldwide.

Revenue for the full year came in at a tick higher than expected at $45.2 billion, compared to Wall Street's forecast of $45.1 billion. That's higher than the $39 billion for fiscal year 2024.

Adjusted earnings per share for the full year came in at $2.53, just a tad higher than estimates of $2.52. Last year, the company posted adjusted earnings of $1.98.

Read the full breakdown of Netflix earnings here.

Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian reports:

United Airlines (UAL) reported a fourth quarter earnings beat after the bell on Tuesday, a week after rival Delta (DAL) saw premium and business travelers boost its results.

Chicago-based United posted record operating revenue of $15.4 billion vs. $15.37 billion per Bloomberg consensus, slightly higher than in Q3 and up nearly 5% compared to a year ago. United reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.10 vs. $2.92 expected, with available seat miles coming in at 83.37 billion.

In terms of guidance, United sees 2026 adjusted EPS in a range of $12 to $14, compared to estimates of $13.04, and adjusted capex of below $8 billion.

United shares climbed 2% in after-hours trade.

\\"Our results are built on winning more and more brand-loyal customers — it's clear they get the most value flying United,\\" United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. \\"This was the highest-revenue quarter in United's history and the highest quarterly RASM [revenue per available seat mile] of the year providing strong revenue momentum that is continuing into 2026.\\"

Read more about United earnings here.

Industrial bellwether Fastenal (FAST) is battling a \\"sluggish industrial economy,\\" the company's executives said on an earnings call on Tuesday.

After reporting earnings per share of $0.26, in line with analyst estimates, the company's new CFO Max Tunnicliff said that the industrial sector has \\"continued to see mixed signals.\\" Tunnicliff noted that \\"while some areas showed resilience, others faced continued headwinds that impacted demand and supply chains.\\"

Shares of Fastenal, which produces an array of products such as bolts, nuts, screws, and studs for industrial manufacturing and construction materials, fell more than 2.5% in afternoon trading Tuesday.

Sales of $2.02 billion slightly missed analyst estimates for $2.04 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Touching on the company's heavy manufacturing markets, Fastenal president Jeffery Watts added that, while the company hasn't seen declines, demand has been flat.

\\"We're not really seeing [the economy improve], but we're also not seeing any declines in our manufacturing as far as the year-over-year usage,\\" he said.

U.S. Bancorp (USB) gained about 1% in midmorning trading on Tuesday after the Minneapolis-based super-regional bank reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter on the back of strong consumer deposits.

The U.S. Bank parent reported $4.31 billion in net interest income, a 3.3% annual rise that topped Wall Street estimates for $4.28 billion. Revenue of $7.36 billion also beat estimates of $7.31 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Earnings of $1.26 per share came in higher than the $1.19 per share the Street was expecting.

U.S. Bancorp said it achieved record consumer deposits in the fourth quarter and saw green shoots in the beaten-down commercial real estate sector.

\\"The effectiveness of products like bank smartly, more sophisticated pricing capabilities, and a significant overhaul of skills, training, digital tools and incentives, together with investments in our branches drove our performance,\\" CEO Gunjan Kedia said on the earnings call. \\"Additionally, commercial real estate loans also showed modest growth after 11 quarters of decline.\\"

Like other bank executives, Kedia weighed in on the proposed 10% credit card rate limit President Trump has floated. Kedia estimated that over 90% of U.S. Bancorp's clients would see \\"a detrimental impact\\" if that rate cap were enacted, and that 50% would face a \\"crushing\\" impact.

\\"We have observed that just in the last few days, the conversation around the rate cap has shifted more productively to options for customers to help them in the short term,\\" Kedia added.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton's (DHI) first quarter earnings were better than expected, but a sluggish housing market marked by affordability concerns weighed on results.

The company reported earnings per share of $2.03, beating estimates of $1.93, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue of $6.8 billion also topped expectations of $6.6 billion, but fell from $7.6 billion a year ago.

Net sales orders increased 3% to 18,300 homes, which was slightly below estimates. Homebuilders have increased sales incentives in recent months to try and entice buyers off the sidelines. That, coupled with lower mortgage rates, has sparked some optimism that the housing market could improve.

D.R. Horton reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance for revenue in a range of $33.5 billion to $35 billion. The company expects to close 86,000 homes to 88,000 homes by the end of the year.

Listen to the earnings call here.

Post-it Note maker 3M (MMM) reported adjusted earnings per share that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, but the stock fell 5% as part of a broader market sell-off.

The Minnesota-based company posted adjusted earnings, which strip out one-time costs, of $1.83, compared to analysts' forecasts of $1.80, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company expected temporary charges from tariffs and stranded costs from removing PFAS materials from its products. In Q4, 3M realized $0.56 per share in net costs from litigation.

Sales grew 2.1% in Q4 to $6.1 billion, topping expectations for $6 billion in sales.

For 2026, the company expects adjusted sales growth of around 4% for full-year adjusted EPS of $8.06. Full-year operating cash flow is expected to be $2.3 billion.

\\"2025 was an important year for 3M as we build a strong foundation that is reshaping our operating model and driving sustainable value creation,\\" 3M CEO William Brown said.

Despite the market holiday on Monday for MLK Day, the flow of earnings strengthens next week with 35 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report results. Here are some names to watch.

Monday: No major earnings reports. Markets are closed.

Tuesday: Netflix (NFLX), United Airlines (UAL), Interactive Brokers (IBKR), 3M Company (MMM), US Bancorp (USB), Fastenal (FAST), D.R. Horton (DHI), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), KeyCorp (KEY), Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC)

Wednesday: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Prologis (PLD), Truist Financial (TFC), Kinder Morgan (KMI), Travelers (TRV), Halliburton (HAL), Teledyne Technologies (TDY), Citizens Financial Group (CFG), Ally Financial (ALLY), Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP)

Thursday: GE Aerospace (GE), Procter & Gamble (PG), Intel (INTC), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Capital One (COF), Freeport-McMoran (FCX), CSX Corporation (CSX), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), Northern Trust (NTRS), McCormick & Company (MKC), Alcoa Corporation (AA), East West Bancorp (EWBC), Mobileye Global (MBLY)

Friday: SLB N.V. (SLB), First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), Comerica Incorporated (CMA), Webster Financial Corporation (WBS), Moog Inc. (MOG-A, MOG-B), United Bankshares (UBSI)

Results from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on Thursday added to predictions of another strong year for Wall Street operations.

Bloomberg reports:

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick started summing up his outlook after Wall Street’s banner year for trading with four words: “The setup is ideal.”

After Wall Street’s five giant banks reported a record $134 billion of trading revenue from last year and an upswing in dealmaking, Pick and peers agreed it’s poised to continue — albeit with caveats.

“As a student of these businesses for decades, I would bet you that 2021 is not the ceiling,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon said, referring to the last record year for lenders’ trading businesses. “The world is set up at the moment to be incredibly constructive in 2026 for M&A and capital markets activity, and I think the likely scenario is it is a very, very good year.”

President Donald Trump’s turbulent policy changes and trade talks have kept investors on edge — but for bank traders, that has kept paying off as clients rush to reposition their portfolios. At the same time, his administration’s deregulatory efforts and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cuts are reviving a moribund environment for mergers and acquisitions — quickly filling dealmakers’ pipelines.

Read more here.

State Street (STT) stock fell more than 2% in premarket trading after a repositioning charge weighed on otherwise strong profits.

The asset manager reported rising revenue of $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter, driven by increased fee revenue and topping Wall Street analyst expectations for $3.6 billion in revenue, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Net interest income increased by 7% year over year.

State Street's assets under custody increased 16% year over year to $53.8 trillion, primarily due to higher market levels and flows. Assets under management in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, increased 20% to $5.7 trillion.

However, net income of $747 million declined 5% year over year. State Street's GAAP earnings per share of $2.42 missed expectations of $2.45 per share. State Street's overall expenses increased 12%, which the company largely attributed to a $226 million repositioning charge.

On Thursday, State Street launched its digital asset platform, which offers tokenized assets such as stablecoins and money market funds. The custody bank joins the fray of financial institutions pushing into crypto and tokenized assets, including Bank of New York Mellon (BK), JPMorgan (JPM), and Goldman Sachs (GS).

“This launch marks a significant step in State Street’s digital asset strategy,” State Street president Joerg Ambrosius said of the platform. “By pairing blockchain connectivity with robust controls and global servicing expertise, we’re enabling institutions to confidently embrace tokenization as part of their core strategy with an organization like us that they can trust.”

PNC Financial (PNC) stock rose 3% before the bell after reporting fourth quarter earnings on Friday. The bank's earnings per share (EPS) came in at $4.88, beating analysts' estimates of $4.19. Revenue for the quarter also topped estimates, coming in at $6.1 billion, versus the consensus estimate of 5.95 billion.

Investing.com reports:

PNC Financial’s stock price closed at $215.04. It is up 19.87% in the last 3 months and up 8.31% in the last 12 months.

PNC Financial saw 9 positive EPS revisions and 4 negative EPS revisions in the last 90 days. See PNC Financial’s stock price’s past reactions to earnings here.

According to InvestingPro, PNC Financial’s Financial Health score is \\"fair performance\\".

Read more here.

Freight and logistics company J.B. Hunt (JBHT) reported a 2% decline in revenue year over year, led by weaker volumes and revenue in its main Intermodal segment.

The Arkansas-based company posted diluted earnings per share of $1.90 for the fourth quarter, topping Wall Street analysts' expectations of $1.82 per share, according to estimates on S&P Global Market Intelligence. Total revenue of $3.1 billion came in line with estimates but declined slightly from $3.15 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

In the Intermodal segment, its largest by revenue, the company reported a 2% decline in volume, driven by a 6% decrease in transcontinental network loads between US ports, Mexico, and Canada year over year (though eastern network loads increased 5%). J.B. Hunt also saw weakness in its last-mile segment due to softer demand in end markets, the company said.

The stock fell 4% in after-hours trading as the company's earnings call began. Listen to the call live here.

Chip stocks broadly rose on Thursday after TSMC (TSM) beat Wall Street's expectations and its chief executive, C.C. Wei, dismissed AI bubble concerns.

Yahoo Finance's Laura Bratton reports

... TSMC executives said the Taiwan-based manufacturer is set to see AI-related revenue grow at a compounded annual rate (CAGR) in the high-50% range through 2029. Crucially, the company is stepping up its capital expenditures in 2026, forecasting $54 billion in capex for the year at the midpoint of its range, up from about $41 billion in 2025, as its CEO noted \\"very positive\\" developments in the AI market.

“We are preparing to increase our capacity and stepping [up] our capex investment to support our customers' future growth,” TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei said in a call with analysts following the results.

“Our conviction in the multiyear AI megatrend remains strong, and we believe the demand for semiconductor[s] will continue to be very fundamental.”

Asked explicitly whether stocks are in an AI bubble, Wei contended that the issue made him “very nervous.” So the executive said he spent the past three to four months talking to his customers (chip designers) and their end customers to understand whether AI demand is real or not, as a debate rages on Wall Street about whether the return on hundreds of billions worth of Big Tech investments in the tech will pay off.

“They [showed] me the evidence that AI really [helps] their business,” Wei said, adding that “AI is real — not only real, [but it] is starting to grow into our daily life.”

Read more here.

Like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley's (MS) fourth quarter benefited from a boom in Wall Street dealmaking.

Morgan Stanley reported an 18% lift in profits in Q4 as its total client assets in wealth and investment banking grew by $350 million to reach $9.3 trillion. Net income rose to $4.4 billion, or $2.68 per diluted share, from $3.7 billion a year ago. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $2.45, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The standout in the quarter was Morgan Stanley's investment banking revenues, which increased 47% year over year to $2.4 billion. The company's debt underwriting revenue, in particular, nearly doubled year over year to $785 million.

Revenue in the wealth management unit also surged 13% to $8.4 billion, compared with $7.5 billion a year ago.

For the full year, Morgan Stanley reported record net revenue of $70.6 billion and net income of $16.9 billion. However, the stock wavered in premarket trading.

Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports:

Wall Street’s dealmaking boom didn’t slow at Goldman Sachs (GS) in the fourth quarter.

Goldman reported net income of $4.6 billion, or $14.01 earnings per share, a 12% increase from the fourth quarter of last year. The outcome far exceeded analyst expectations, which did not include Goldman's deal to pass its Apple (AAPL) credit card portfolio to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) that was disclosed last week.

The handoff included a $2.12 billion net benefit reflecting a release of loan loss reserves tied to the portfolio, leading to a one-time $0.46 earnings per share bump.

The Apple handoff also dented Goldman's quarterly net revenue, which fell 3% to $13.5 billion from the fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue from Goldman’s dealmaking fees jumped 25% to $2.57 billion, in line with analyst expectations and surpassing other big bank rivals with the exception of Citigroup (C).

Read more here.

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC (TSM) stock jumped 6% in premarket trading on Thursday after the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductors reported a 35% surge in fourth quarter profit and delivered a strong outlook.

In the fourth quarter, TSMC reported revenue of $33.73 billion, topping the company's own guidance and Wall Street estimates of $32.8 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Fourth quarter profits per ADR share hit a record $3.14, above expectations for $2.98 per ADR unit.

For the first quarter, TSMC expects revenue of between $34.6 billion and $35.8 billion, with gross profit margins between 63% and 65%.

The company also said it expects 2026 revenue to increase by close to 30% year over year as artificial intelligence supports strong demand for its chips. TSMC counts Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) among its customers.

Read more here from Reuters or listen to a replay of the earnings call here.

BlackRock (BLK) stock edged higher by almost 2% on Thursday during premarket trading, after the asset manager pulled in $342 billion of total client cash in Q4. This has now pushed the company to a record $14 trillion of assets.

Bloomberg News reports:

Investors added $268 billion on a net basis to its long-term investment funds, including $181 billion to its exchange-trade fund business that now has $5.5 trillion overall, BlackRock said Thursday in a statement announcing full-year and quarterly earnings.

The tally in the last three months of the year pushed the total annual haul, including money-market and cash-management funds, to $698 billion, setting a new record.

Net flows to long-term investment funds beat the $232 billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The results include for the first time one of the biggest outsourcing deals in the industry, the move by Citigroup Inc. (C) to hand BlackRock about $80 billion in the bank’s wealthy clients’ investment assets to manage.

“Around the world, clients are looking to do more across BlackRock,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in the statement. “Our pipeline of business has broadened across products and regions, spanning public and private markets mandates, technology and data, and client channels.”

Read more here.

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