Outlook for Jan. 26-30, 2026
Megacap earnings results next week could lift a stock market that’s broadened out to include a larger number of winners. Earnings kick into high gear next week, with four of the so-called Magnificent Seven companies set to report: Meta Platforms , Microsoft , and Tesla report Wednesday, while Apple posts Thursday. But the group isn’t looking so magnificent in early 2026. Not only are the majority of the tech behemoths down for this year, they’ve been under pressure for some time. Meta Platforms and Microsoft are off their 52-week highs by more than 18% each. Apple is lower by 13%. Tesla is almost 10% off its high. Ironically, that diminished performance could actually prove a godsend, giving the megacaps a better chance of delivering on expectations, not just on strong earnings for the quarter just ended but crucially on their forward guidance. Low bar “In my experience, come limping in, the bar is low, and we should see at least a couple of those big mega stocks do pretty well with the earnings,” said Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management. Mahoney has been “nibbling” at Apple and Microsoft, two stocks he considers unduly punished, but would wait for a further decline before he making a more sizable bet. Others agree that Apple could be a stock to watch in the week ahead. Strong earnings growth charged by an iPhone 17 replacement cycle could revive a stock that’s been down for eight straight weeks, according to Michael Landsberg, investment chief at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth. Apple “seems to be the only Magnificent Seven stock that actually has earnings growth right now,” Landsberg told CNBC’s ” Power Lunch ” this week. “Everyone else is decelerating.” Companies in the S & P 500 are expected to post a blended earnings growth rate of 8% in the fourth quarter, but much of that will come from information stocks that are set to report a blended growth rate of 26%, according to FactSet data. .RUT YTD mountain Russell 2000 in 2026 to date That could help a stock market that’s already been broadening out take yet another leg higher. So far this year, it’s been small caps, not large caps, that have ruled the market. The Russell 2000 has scored fresh records, rallying more than 10%, while the S & P 500 is ahead about 1%. But inside the S & P 500, more stocks are beating the index than has been true in a long time. According to a post from Macro Charts, 65% of the S & P 500 is beating the index — the second best in half a century. The equal weight S & P 500 , which gives each stock in the index the same importance rather than weighting them by market value, has rallied more than 4% this year, led by energy and materials producers. That rotation has helped the stock market reach fresh records in 2026 already. But any participation from the S & P 500’s biggest members will go far in lifting the entire index. The Magnificent Seven companies alone represent more than a third of the S & P 500, with Apple — the third-biggest public company in the world — alone accounting for roughly 7%. Also on the calendar next week is the first Federal Reserve policy meeting of the new year. Investors are nearly unanimous in thinking the central bank will leave benchmark interest rates where they are — currently 3.50% to 3.75% — as the central bank takes stock of the U.S. economy. But traders will still parse through Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s commentary after the meeting ends next Wednesday to see how policymakers are thinking through policy, now that the calendar for economic data is finally starting to right itself following the fourth quarter government shutdown. More important will be the number of dissents when the central bank votes on policy, especially at a time when the Trump administration is targeting Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, stirring questions of Fed independence. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Davos, Switzerland this week that the next Fed chair to replace Powell in May could be announced as soon as next week. The Fed meeting will take place within that swirl, with any doubt in the central bank likely to have long-playing consequences for the U.S. and global markets. Week ahead calendar All times ET. Monday, Jan. 26 8:30 a.m. Durable Goods preliminary (November) 10:30 a.m. Dallas Fed Index (January) Earnings: Steel Dynamics , Nucor Tuesday, Jan. 27 9 a.m. FHFA Home Price Index (November) 9 a.m. S & P/Case-Shiller comp.20 HPI (November) 10 a.m. Consumer Confidence (January) 10 a.m. Richmond Fed Index (January) Earnings: Texas Instruments , PPG Industries , Union Pacific , NextEra Energy , Boeing , RTX , Roper Technologies , Kimberly-Clark , United Parcel Service , Synchrony Financial , UnitedHealth Group , Sysco , Northrop Grumman , General Motors Wednesday, Jan. 28 2 p.m. FOMC Meeting conclusion 2 p.m. Fed Funds Target Upper Bound Earnings: Raymond James Financial , Fair Isaac , ServiceNow , International Business Machines , Meta Platforms , Las Vegas Sands , Lam Research , C.H. Robinson Worldwide , Waste Management , United Rentals , Tesla , Microsoft , Amphenol , Starbucks , General Dynamics , Automatic Data Processing , MSCI , Lennox International , Textron , Elevance Health , Danaher , AT & T , Otis Worldwide , Corning , GE Vernova , Progressive Thursday, Jan. 29 8:30 a.m. Continuing Jobless Claims (01/17) 8:30 a.m. Initial Claims (01/24) 8:30 a.m. Productivity and Costs (3Q Rev) 8:30 a.m. GDP first preliminary (Q4) 8:30 a.m. Trade Balance (November) 10 a.m. Durable Orders (November) Earnings: Apple , Hartford Insurance Group , Arthur J. Gallagher , Stryker , Sandisk , ResMed , KLA , Hologic , Weyerhaeuser , Deckers Outdoor , Parker-Hannifin , Lockheed Martin , Sherwin-Williams , Altria Group , International Paper , Dover , Tractor Supply , L3Harris Technologies , Valero Energy , PulteGroup , Caterpillar , Ameriprise Financial , Thermo Fisher Scientific , Honeywell International , Royal Caribbean Group , Norfolk Southern , Marsh & McLennan , Mastercard , Comcast , Blackstone , Visa Friday, Jan. 30 8:30 a.m. Producer Price Index (December) 9:45 a.m. Chicago PMI (January) Earnings: Franklin Resources , Charter Communications , American Express , Colgate-Palmolive , Exxon Mobil , Verizon Communications , Regeneron Pharmaceuticals , Chevron , Air Products & Chemicals
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