Second-quarter earnings season shifts into high gear this week, with major banks kicking off results alongside key inflation reports. Here’s what’s happening …
- Welcome to a new earnings season, kicking off with reports from most of the major financial powerhouses. This morning, numbers are due from JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, as well as Fastenal and Ericsson. Wednesday earnings are up for ASML Holding, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Progressive, Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, PNC Financial, Cintas, and Kinder Morgan. Thursday reports are expected from TSMC, UnitedHealth Group, GE Aerospace, Netflix, Abbott Laboratories, Prologis, U.S. Bancorp, State Street, and Citizens Financial, followed Friday by HDFC Bank, The Travelers, Truist Financial, Regions Financial, Republic Bancorp, and Bank First. *
- Good news on the inflation front: The hot-off-the-press CPI (Consumer Price Index) for June report came in cooler than economists anticipated. Consumer prices fell 0.4% from May, marking the largest monthly decline since April 2020. On a year-over-year basis, inflation eased to 3.5%, down from May’s reading and lower than expectations. The biggest driver was lower energy prices. Energy costs dropped 5.7% during the month, while gasoline prices fell 9.7%. Although both remain higher than they were a year ago, the pullback provided meaningful relief for consumers and helped bring overall inflation lower. Food prices were a bit firmer, rising 0.2% in June, with higher prices for items such as lettuce and seafood contributing to the increase. Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile food and energy categories and is closely watched by the Fed, was also encouraging. Core prices were unchanged during the month, while annual core inflation slowed to 2.6%, coming in below economist forecasts. Overall, the report suggests inflation pressures continue to ease, providing a positive signal for consumers and policymakers alike. PPI (Producers Price Index) numbers will be released Wednesday. **
- SpaceX shares fell again on Monday, marking their second straight day of declines. The stock is now getting closer to its $135 IPO price, just days after the company joined the Nasdaq 100. It has been a bumpy first month for SpaceX as a public company. Since its June 12 debut, the stock has moved around quite a bit and is now down about 7% from its first trade at $150. SpaceX’s big debut drew plenty of attention, especially after Elon Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire. Investors also saw the listing as a possible preview of more high-profile AI-related IPOs, including potential offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. ***
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