Here are the 5 big things we’re watching in the stock market this week
We are experiencing the thickest part of the earnings season storm that many of the world’s largest technology companies are currently experiencing. However, numbers are coming out this week from two portfolio names, as well as three major economic reports. Nearly three-quarters of the 59% of S&P 500 companies reporting quarterly results lagged on revenue, while 76% lagged on earnings, according to FactSet. In his Sunday column, Jim Cramer examined last week’s Super Bowl megacap tech wins and declared the winner. With that setup, let’s get back to this week’s game and five things to watch closely. 1. DuPont reports earnings for the final quarter of 2025 on Tuesday morning. The fledgling chemicals giant is expected to earn 43 cents per share on revenue of $1.69 billion, according to analyst consensus estimates compiled by market data provider LSEG. Last week, we booked some profits on DuPont to lock in our gains from Wall Street’s recent rotation into technology and momentum stocks. As we wrote in Thursday’s trading alert, our DuPont bull thesis was based on the multiple re-rating of the stock following the Qnity Electronics spin-off in November 2025 to be higher than the undervaluation. That’s exactly what happened. DuPont’s short-lead businesses (those with shorter lead times between ordering and delivery) will likely remain under pressure, JPMorgan said in its earnings preview note. Analysts noted their expectations for a slight recovery in the automotive end market. Investors are also eager to get any guidance for the year ahead in addition to the reported December quarter results. 2. Cisco Systems reported earnings Wednesday evening for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which ends Jan. 24. Analysts expect earnings of $1.02 per share on revenue of $15.1 billion, according to LSEG. AI acceleration will be our primary focus as we seek to better understand the potential upside of the massive AI infrastructure being prepared. In November, CEO Chuck Robins said a “major multi-year, multi-billion dollar campus network renewal cycle” was currently taking place. Updates on pricing will be important, especially given the increase in memory costs and AI orders from hyperscalers that are hotly spent in the 2025 calendar year and are not planned any time soon. A rebound in Cisco’s lagging security business is not expected, so we think investors will grade the quarter and move forward guidance based on AI results. 3. The January employment report comes from the Ministry of Labor on Wednesday morning. It was planned to be held last Friday, but was postponed due to the brief government shutdown last week. This is one of, if not the, most important monthly economic report for investors because the health of the job market is directly tied to private consumption, which is responsible for roughly two-thirds of U.S. gross domestic product. Economists expect an 80,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls, according to FactSet; unchanged unemployment rate at 4.4%; and average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% month over month. 4. On Friday morning, January’s consumer price index competes with employment data for the most important report of the week. Economists expect a 2.5% increase in the annual CPI figure and a 2.6% increase in core rates, which exclude volatile food and energy prices. While it is not the Federal Reserve’s preferred way to track inflation (this would be the underlying PCE price index), the CPI comes in a close second and provides important underlying details of overall inflation, such as the rate of housing cost inflation, one of the most challenging areas of high prices in the economy. 5. December retail sales begin Tuesday morning, giving consumers control during the busy holiday shopping season. Economists expect to see a 0.4% monthly increase. This report doesn’t take inflation into account, but it’s still an important indicator of where and how much consumers are spending their money. Next week, Monday, February 9 Before the bell: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Apollo Global Management (APO), monday.com (MNDY), Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BDX), Hain Celestial Group (HAIN), Motorcar Parts of America (MPAA)\ After the bell: onsemi (ON), Opendoor Technologies (OPEN), Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT), Upwork (UPWK), Simpson Manufacturing Co. (SSD), Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) 8:30 a.m. ET: Empire State Index 10 a.m. ET: NAHB Housing Market Index Tuesday, February 10 Before the bell: DuPont (DD), Coca-Cola (KO), CVS Health (CVS), Datadog (DDOG), Fiserv (FISV), Spotify (SPOT), S&P Global (SPGI), AstraZeneca (AZN), Ferrari (RACE), Oscar Health (OSCR), Marriott International (MAR), BP (BP), Duke Energy (DUK), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Incyte (INCY) After the bell: Robinhood (HOOD), Lyft (LYFT), Ford (F), Upstart (UPST), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Cloudflare (NET), American International Group (AIG), Zillow Group (ZG), Mattel (MAT) 8:30 AM ET: December Retail Sales Wednesday, February 11 Before the bell: Shopify (SHOP), Vertiv (VRT), Unity (U), Humana (HUM), Kraft Heinz (KHC), T-Mobile US (TMUS), McDonald’s (MCD), GlobalFoundries (GFS), Oatly (OTLY), Vertex (VERX), Generac Holdings (GNRC), Hilton (HLT) After the bell: Cisco Systems (CSCO), AppLovin (APP), Albemarle (ALB), QuantumScape (QS), HubSpot (HUBS), Fastly (FSLY), MGM Resorts (MGM), Motorola Solutions (MSI) 8:30 AM ET: January Nonfarm Payrolls Thursday, February 12 Before the bell: Brookfield (BN), Crocs (CROX), Howmet Aerospace (HWM), Zoetis (ZTS), PG&E (PCG), American Electric Power (AEP), Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO), Birkenstock (BIRK), Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Hyatt Hotels (H) After the bell: Coinbase Global (COIN), Arista Networks (ANET), Pinterest (PINS), Rivian Automotive (RIVN), Toast (TOST), DraftKings (DKNG), Applied Materials (AMAT), Expedia (EXPE), Dutch Bros (BROS), Roku (ROKU) 8:30 AM ET: Initial Unemployment Claims Friday, February 13 Before the bell: Moderna (MRNA), Wendy’s (WEN), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Enbridge (ENB) 8:30 a.m. ET: Consumer price index for January (See here for a complete list of stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) Subscribe to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer for a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trading alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable foundation’s portfolio. If Jim talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trading alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH THE DISCLAIMERS. NO CIVIL OBLIGATIONS OR DUTIES EXIST OR SHALL BE RESULTING FROM YOUR RECEIVING ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULT OR PROFIT CAN BE GUARANTEED.
