Here are the 3 big things we're watching in the stock market in the week ahead

Here are the 3 big things we're watching in the stock market in the week ahead

Published Sun, Jan 11 2026

4:28 PM EST

The new year on Wall Street officially kicks into high gear this week, with three things we're going to be watching. The financial firms usher in the start of earnings season, the government delivers key inflation data, and JPMorgan holds a major health-care conference. 1. Club earnings: Wells Fargo reports fourth-quarter 2025 numbers before Wednesday's opening bell. According to LSEG, analysts are looking for earnings per share (EPS) of $1.67, on revenue of $21.65 billion. While the reported results are important, it's management's outlook for 2026 that will likely determine how the stock reacts. The punitive Federal Reserve asset cap for past misdeeds was lifted back in June — so 2026 will represent the first full year that management can compete on a level playing field in core lending operations and in other business lines such as investment banking. WFC 1Y mountain Wells Fargo 1 year Out of our three financial holdings set to report, Wells Fargo is the most consumer-facing and should provide the best read on how Americans are feeling about the economy. Last month, at the annual Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf said, "The consumer continues to spend. Delinquencies are probably marginally better than they were last time we spoke or last time we talked publicly about it. Deposit balances are strong. Investment balances are strong." So, the real question is, has anything changed since then? Additionally, investors want to know where management sees interest rates going this year. Jerome Powell's term as Fed chairman ends in May. President Donald Trump has made no secret that he thinks Powell should be cutting rates more aggressively. The Fed reduced rates by three-quarters of a percentage point last year and a full point in 2025. We would expect that Trump's choice to replace Powell will come into the job with a mandate to cut rates further. GS 1Y mountain Goldman Sachs 1 year Goldman Sachs delivers quarterly results Thursday morning. In addition to the headline numbers, we want to know how management sees 2026 shaping up — and specifically, whether Wall Street dealmaking can continue last year's strength. Jim Cramer said last week that the Trump administration's stance on antitrust matters and business regulations bodes well for investment banks like Goldman Sachs, which rake in fees from advising on mergers and acquisitions as well as initial public offerings. Indeed, a strengthening investment banking backdrop with improved odds of large-scale M & A approval by regulators and a more inviting environment for IPOs are why we swapped Morgan Stanley out for Goldman Sachs following the 2024 presidential election. This week, we learned that the Apple Card is moving to JPMorgan from Goldman Sachs. After the announcement, Goldman said it expects an EPS gain of 46 cents in the fourth quarter. As of Friday, the analyst consensus estimate compiled by LSEG put Goldman earnings at $11.57 per share in Q4 and revenue of $14.11 billion. We will have to see if analysts update their EPS estimates to account for the gain and whether Goldman notes it in the release. BLK 1Y mountain BlackRock 1 year BlackRock also reports its fourth-quarter earnings before Thursday's opening bell. According to LSEG, analysts are looking for EPS of $12.31 per share, on revenue of $6.74 billion. On Jan. 5, we trimmed our BlackRock position following a strong start to the year. Nonetheless, we have confidence that shares of BlackRock can continue to advance as the company further transforms into a one-stop shop asset manager, with offerings spanning beyond publicly traded stocks and bonds and into cryptocurrencies, private credit, and infrastructure funds. Key watch items beyond the headline numbers will be net inflows and fee growth. 2. Inflation data: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its latest monthly reports on consumer prices Tuesday morning and producer prices Wednesday morning. The December CPI, or consumer price index, will get the most attention. Economists expect a 2.7% year-over-year increase in both headline CPI and the ex-food and energy core rate. Those readings would be roughly in line with the gains in the prior period. The Fed has been trying to get inflation down to a 2% rate. Following their December meeting and their split-decision to cut rates, some policymakers favored cuts to head off further weakness in the labor market, and others thought that the easing had gone far enough and threatens to aggravate inflation. "We are well-positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves," Powell said at his post-meeting news conference. On Friday, the December employment report from the BLS showed tepid job growth, favoring the "more cuts" camp. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that additional Fed rate cuts are the "only ingredient missing" for a stronger economy. Trump has yet to reveal his pick to replace Powell. One of the finalists, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Friday, "We'll see what the president thinks about where I should be." 3. Health conference: JPMorgan's annual Healthcare Conference begins Monday in San Francisco, and Jim will be there to talk to and interview more than a dozen top executives from the biggest names in pharmaceuticals to biotech. While we will be interested to hear what Club holdings Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Danaher have to say, updates from competitors as well as others will help shape our thinking on the health sector as we continue to refine our 2026 world view — a critical investing concept when it comes to top-down analysis. Bristol Myers is set to speak at the conference on Monday at 10:30 a.m. Danaher , which also tends to preannounce Q4 results the night before their presentation at this conference, is set to speak on Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. ET. Eli Lilly is set to present on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. ET. All three CEOs will make their way to the "Mad Money" set during the week to speak with Jim about their plans for the new year and beyond Week ahead Monday, Jan. 12 JPMorgan Healthcare Conference begins Tuesday, Jan. 13 Before the earnings bell: JPMorgan (JPM), Delta (DAL), Bank of NY (BK) 8:30 a.m. ET: Consumer price index (December) Wednesday, Jan. 14 Before the bell: Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC) 8:30 a.m. ET: Producer price index (December) 10 a.m. ET: Existing home sales (December) Thursday, Jan. 15 Before the bell: Goldman Sachs (GS), BlackRock (BLK), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Morgan Stanley (MS) 8:30 a.m. ET: Weekly jobless claims 8:30 a.m. ET: Retail sales (December) 8:30 a.m. ET: Philly Fed index (January) Friday, Jan. 16 Before the bell: Regions Financial (RF), State Street (STT), PNC Financial (PNC), M & T Bank (MTB) 9:15 a.m. ET: Industrial production and capacity utilization (December) (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) 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