Wall Street’s Q4 2025 earnings season begins next week, with major banks like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:), Citigroup (NYSE:), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:) kicking things off, followed by broader reports through February.
With the benchmark S&P 500 sitting at 6,921 on the daily chart, just a fraction below its all-time high of 6,965, investors are now looking to corporate earnings to determine whether the market’s momentum is sustainable.
Source: Investing.com
Earnings Calendar Highlights:
Jan. 13: JPMorgan Chase, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:)
Jan. 14: Bank of America (NYSE:), Wells Fargo, Citigroup
Jan. 15: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock
Jan. 20:Netflix (NASDAQ:), United Airlines (NASDAQ:)
Jan. 27: Unitedhealth (NYSE:), Boeing (NYSE:), General Motors (NYSE:), UPS
Jan. 28: Microsoft (NASDAQ:), Tesla (NASDAQ:), IBM (NYSE:)
Jan. 29: Apple (NASDAQ:)
Feb. 2: Meta (NASDAQ:), Amazon (NASDAQ:)
Feb. 3: Alphabet (NASDAQ:)
Feb. 25: Nvidia (NASDAQ:)
This cycle covers October-December 2025 performance, amid a resilient U.S. economy, ongoing AI-driven investments, and emerging policy shifts under the new administration. Overall, analysts anticipate solid but moderated growth compared to earlier quarters, with potential for positive surprises.
What to Expect
Consensus estimates point to an 8.3% year-over-year increase in S&P 500 earnings per share (EPS), which would mark the 10th straight quarter of growth. Revenue is projected to rise 7.6%, continuing a 21-quarter streak and representing the second-strongest growth since Q3 2022.
Source: FactSet
Sector-wise, nine of 11 sectors are expected to post EPS gains, and ten for revenue. The forward P/E ratio for the S&P 500 stands at 21.8, above historical averages (5-year: 20.0; 10-year: 18.7), indicating stretched valuations that could amplify reactions to beats or misses.
What to Watch
Tech and AI Leaders: The Information Technology sector is the standout, with EPS up 25.7% and revenue up 17.9%, fueled by semiconductors (31% revenue growth) and AI demand. Key reports from Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle will be pivotal. NVDA alone could drive much of the sector’s upside with its EPS projected over 69% higher ($1.51 vs. $0.89 prior year). Watch for guidance on AI infrastructure spending and cloud growth.
Financials and Banks: With investment banking rebounding, focus on fee income, loan growth, and net interest margins amid Fed rate cuts. Earnings from big banks will set the tone for the season.
Consumer Sectors: Staples and discretionary could surprise positively, with resilient spending and potential for upbeat 2026 outlooks. Materials (e.g., metals & mining at 26% EPS) and health care (9% revenue) also warrant attention for cyclical recovery signals.
Guidance Quality: Companies’ 2026 outlooks will be scrutinized, especially for double-digit EPS growth (consensus ~13-16%). Look for commentary on cost controls, productivity from AI, and margin pressures from a strong dollar or supply chain shifts.
Companies Poised for 50%+ EPS & Sales Growth
As Q4 earnings season kicks off, all eyes are on how corporate America has navigated persistent macroeconomic headwinds, with investors eager to see whether resilience or weakness defines the quarter.
Given the current economic backdrop, I used the InvestingPro Stock Screener to search for companies that are forecast to deliver growth of at least 50% or more in both earnings per share and revenue. In total, 28 stocks showed up on the screener.
Source: InvestingPro
Some of the notable tech-related names to make the cut include Nvidia, Broadcom (NASDAQ:), Palantir (NASDAQ:), Robinhood (NASDAQ:), Reddit (NYSE:), CoreWeave (NASDAQ:), Astera Labs (NASDAQ:), Credo Technology (NASDAQ:), Lumentum (NASDAQ:), IONQ (NYSE:), AeroVironment (NASDAQ:), IREN (NASDAQ:), and Tempus AI (NASDAQ:).
Source: InvestingPro
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Disclosure: This is not financial advice. Always conduct your own research.
At the time of writing, I am long on the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 via the SPDR® S&P 500 ETF, and the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF. I am also long on the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF. I regularly rebalance my portfolio of individual stocks and ETFs based on ongoing risk assessment of both the macroeconomic environment and companies’ financials.
The views discussed in this article are solely the opinion of the author and should not be taken as investment advice.
Follow Jesse Cohen on X/Twitter @JesseCohenInv for more stock market analysis and insight.
