The markets enter a strange week while hovering around records.
We’ll get earnings from “Magnificent Seven” names such as Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA). But the Federal Reserve is in a blackout period ahead of its rates meeting next week. That probably won’t stop President Trump from taking a few more jabs at Fed Chief Jerome Powell.
So, where the market will go is anyone’s guess.
Here is everything we touched on during Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid on Monday. Tune in live daily to Opening Bid at 9:30 a.m. ET.
We are only 10 trading days out from President Trump’s self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline to land a host of trade deals. If deals aren’t struck, markets will enter tariff land once again. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reinforced the point over the weekend, saying Aug. 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs.
Investors have so far shrugged off the threat.
Markets have powered to records on the back of much-better-than-expected earnings from the likes of JPMorgan (JPM), American Express (AXP), and Delta (DAL).
The numbers have been somewhat shocking given the geopolitical backdrop.
Eighty-three percent of S&P 500 (^GSPC) companies have surpassed expectations on the top and bottom lines, better than the one, five, and 10-year beat rate averages, according to FactSet.
“I think that corporate earnings are in a really strong trend here,” Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield said on Opening Bid.
This morning, Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) badly whiffed on earnings, but the stock is only down 1% as US sales returned to growth.
“Domino’s stronger than expected 2Q results suggest that a strategy centered around innovation (stuffed crust pizza), convenience (partnership with aggregators) and value could more than offset general consumer softness, even in a highly competitive category,” Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk will look to recharge investors as the stock tanks 13% year to date.
The EV maker will report earnings on Wednesday, with the Street focused on how Musk’s volatile political positions and weak EV demand will shape the business.
JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman said, “Sales remain in a troubling trend, and we continue to see risk to the full year outlook and valuation.”
Alphabet’s stock is entering earnings day on Wednesday strong, having gained about 14% in the past month. But you wouldn’t get this bullish vibe looking at Alphabet’s price-to-earnings ratio.
According to Yahoo Finance data, the company’s forward PE ratio is trading at nearly trough levels. Alphabet’s forward PE ratio of 19.4 times is also below the S&P 500’s 23 times.
“The multiple it’s trading at is reflective of that existential question about its core search business,” Mayfield explained. “Now, Google has done very well over the last 20 years. I think there’s a lot of reason to think it will come out of the other side with a very strong position.”
Ultimately, Alphabet must deliver on three fronts to appease the bulls.
First, the ads on the core search platform need to be above estimates to alleviate competitive concerns about AI searches.
Second, YouTube has to be strong again from top to bottom, just as Netflix earnings last week showed streaming domination.
Third, Alphabet must show reasonable cost controls even as it spends aggressively to build AI infrastructure.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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