Earnings Week: Guidance Focus

This week’s first big earnings reports are set to move stocks on what companies say about the next few months, not just the last three. (cnbc.com) JPMorgan Chase is scheduled to release first-quarter 2026 results at about 7:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, April 14, with its earnings call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. (jpmorganchase.com) Netflix said it will post first-quarter 2026 results and its business outlook on Thursday, April 16, at about 1:01 p.m. Pacific, followed by a management interview at 1:45 p.m. Pacific with co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and chief financial officer Spence Neumann. (ir.netflix.net) The setup is unusual because Wall Street’s profit estimates for the Standard and Poor’s 500 index have not collapsed heading into reporting season. FactSet said on April 10 that the index was still expected to post 12.6% year-over-year earnings growth for the first quarter. (factset.com) That estimate was 12.8% on December 31, so analysts have trimmed forecasts only slightly even after a volatile start to April. MarketWatch said the stock market’s rebound now faces an early test from earnings season. (factset.com) (marketwatch.com) Company guidance has also held up better than usual. FactSet said 51 Standard and Poor’s 500 companies issued negative earnings-per-share guidance for the first quarter and 58 issued positive guidance, above the five-year average of 44 positive outlooks and below the five-year average of 61 negative outlooks. (factset.com) That leaves investors listening for any change in tone from bank executives and consumer-facing companies. CNBC reported that traders are watching whether recent shocks look temporary in company commentary or whether caution starts spreading across sectors. (cnbc.com) JPMorgan Chase matters early because its businesses touch consumer credit, corporate borrowing, trading and dealmaking, giving investors a read on several parts of the economy at once. Netflix matters for a different reason: its report offers a check on household spending and on whether large technology and media companies still feel comfortable giving firm outlooks. (jpmorganchase.com) (ir.netflix.net) (cnbc.com) FactSet said the Standard and Poor’s 500 forward price-to-earnings ratio stood at 20.4 on April 10, above its five-year average of 19.9 and 10-year average of 18.9. If companies keep their outlooks intact, that valuation can look supported; if they cut forecasts, the math gets harder quickly. (factset.com) By Thursday afternoon, investors should have two of the week’s clearest signals: what the biggest United States bank sees on April 14 and what the biggest streaming company says on April 16. (jpmorganchase.com) (ir.netflix.net)