Tesla earnings headline a packed week as S&P 500 hits records
Wall Street heads into one of the busiest stretches of earnings season with Tesla set to report midweek, just days after the S&P 500 notched a new all‑time closing high. The results will test whether Big Tech’s momentum can carry markets through geopolitical crosscurrents and elevated oil prices.
Ninety‑four S&P 500 companies are scheduled to release first‑quarter results this week. Among the names on deck: Boeing, ServiceNow, American Express, 3M, Chubb and Gilead Sciences. Tesla is scheduled to report Wednesday after the market close, putting one of the market’s most influential stocks at center stage.
Early signs point to a solid start. According to FactSet, 88% of S&P 500 companies have topped consensus forecasts among the 10% that have reported so far. Combining reported results with estimates for companies yet to report, the index’s blended year‑over‑year earnings growth rate stands at 13.1%, slightly below the 13.2% expected at the end of the quarter.
Longer‑term, FactSet estimates point to expected earnings growth of 18.0% for calendar 2026 and 16.4% for 2027. Last week’s rally came amid hopes for an end to the Iran conflict. The so‑called Magnificent Seven—Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet and Tesla—surged 8.5%.
Small‑cap stocks outpaced the broader index, while energy shares lagged. Betting market Polymarket showed odds of a U.S. recession in 2026 holding at 24%, well below peaks reached during the armed conflict with Iran. Technology’s outsize role keeps the megacap cohort in focus this season.
The group accounts for a significant share of the S&P 500’s market value and remains a key driver of aggregate profit growth. With Tesla slated to report this week, investors will get a fresh read on demand, margins and capital spending in one of the benchmark’s bellwethers.
At the sector level, stronger‑than‑expected earnings in financials and communication services have been partially offset by downward revisions in energy. Positive results from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley were among the largest contributors to improved index‑level earnings expectations last week.
On the top line, better‑than‑expected sales in the financial sector are the biggest contributors to forecast revenue growth, with expectations now above where they stood at quarter’s end, according to FactSet. Geopolitics shares the stage with earnings this week.
Markets remain focused on the status of hostilities with Iran and on oil prices, while the state of peace negotiations is uncertain. Betting odds on the end of U.S. military operations by the end of June remain high at 84%, though they can fall when the risk of re‑escalation increases.
Against that backdrop, managements’ forward guidance will be closely watched as companies outline how they are navigating potential demand shifts, cost pressures and geopolitical risk.