US equities finished October 12–16 with a pronounced split: the Dow Jones gained while the Nasdaq Composite led declines. Financial-sector earnings were mixed, with sizable beats alongside bank misses. The October 19–23 calendar broadens the focus to technology, industrials, healthcare and energy.
The week that was
- S&P 500: end-of-day close of 7,659.44; down 1.9% for the week.
- Dow Jones: end-of-day close of 52,002.41; up 0.7% for the week.
- Nasdaq Composite: end-of-day close of 26,140.03; down 4.5% for the week.
- Russell 2000: end-of-day close of 2,721.37; down 3% for the week.
Among notable earnings beats, Goldman Sachs reported EPS of $17.01 versus $13.4156 estimated, a 26.8% surprise. The Travelers Companies delivered $9.18 versus $7.4909, a 22.5% beat. UnitedHealth Group beat by 12.2%, with EPS of $4.69 against $4.1809, while BlackRock beat by 11.6%, reporting $15.93 versus $14.2743.
Bank results were uneven. JPMorgan Chase reported EPS of $5.57 versus $5.958 estimated, a 6.5% miss, and Bank of America reported $1.08 versus $1.114, a 3.1% miss. In contrast, Citigroup beat by 5.1% and Morgan Stanley by 1.1%. Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp each missed by 0.1%.
Elsewhere, Progressive missed by 6.3%, while Johnson & Johnson beat by 1%.
The week ahead: earnings
ESS is Earnings Compass's Earnings Strength Score, on a 0–100 scale. Beat records below cover the last 4 reports where available; SpaceX has a supplied record of 1/1. ESS is shown only where provided. Missing scores and records are unavailable, not zero.
- Monday, October 19 — Before open: Cleveland-Cliffs (beats: 1/4); GE Aerospace (4/4). After close: Steel Dynamics (record unavailable); W. R. Berkley (2/4).
- Tuesday, October 20 — Before open: SpaceX (ESS: 31; beats: 1/1); General Motors (4/4); Genuine Parts Company (1/4); Halliburton (record unavailable); 3M (4/4); Northrop Grumman (4/4); Philip Morris International (3/4); RTX Corporation (4/4); Synchrony Financial (3/4).
- Tuesday, October 20 — After close: Alaska Air Group (beats: 2/4); Chubb (4/4); Capital One Financial (2/4); Netflix (0/4); Omnicom Group (3/4); United Airlines Holdings (4/4).
- Wednesday, October 21 — Before open: Abbott Laboratories (beats: 1/4); Danaher (4/4); Elevance Health (4/4); Lithia Motors (3/4); NextEra Energy (4/4); AT&T (3/4); Thermo Fisher Scientific (4/4).
- Wednesday, October 21 — After close: Meta Platforms (ESS: 73; beats: 3/4); Tesla (ESS: 39; beats: 2/4); Baker Hughes (4/4); CSX Corporation (3/4); International Business Machines (3/4); Kinder Morgan (3/4); Lam Research (4/4); Southwest Airlines (2/4); Molina Healthcare (2/4); Reliance (2/4); Texas Instruments (2/4); United Rentals (2/4).
- Thursday, October 22 — Before open: American Airlines Group (beats: 3/4); CBRE Group (4/4); Comcast (3/4); Dow (4/4); General Dynamics (3/4); Honeywell International (record unavailable); Lockheed Martin (3/4); PG&E Corporation (3/4); Procter & Gamble (1/4); PulteGroup (2/4); Spotify Technology (record unavailable); Tractor Supply Company (0/4).
- Thursday, October 22 — After close: Betterware de México (beats: 2/4); The Hartford Insurance Group (3/4); Newmont (record unavailable); Western Digital (4/4).
- Friday, October 23 — Before open: Exxon Mobil (ESS: 75; beats: 3/4); American Express (3/4); SLB (3/4). After close: DaVita (3/4).
Macro calendar
The supplied calendar includes the following releases but does not specify their dates. All times are Eastern.
- 8:30am ET — US Housing Starts.
- 8:30am ET — US Building Permits, preliminary.
- 8:30am ET — US Initial Jobless Claims.
- 10:00am ET — US Existing Home Sales.
What to watch
- Market divergence: The Dow's weekly gain contrasted with declines in the broader market and small caps. Whether that split persists is a key backdrop to the next round of earnings; the index figures alone do not establish its cause.
- Technology results after the Nasdaq decline: Netflix enters Tuesday with a 0/4 beat record. Wednesday brings Meta Platforms, with ESS of 73 and a 3/4 record, and Tesla, with ESS of 39 and a 2/4 record. Those measures describe supplied scores and historical results, not guaranteed outcomes.
- Industrial and consumer demand: Reports from General Motors, GE Aerospace, Procter & Gamble and the airlines will offer opportunities to assess management commentary on demand and costs.
- Financial-sector follow-through: After mixed bank results, Capital One Financial and American Express put consumer-credit commentary in focus.
- Energy and housing: Exxon Mobil has the highest supplied ESS this week at 75, with a 3/4 beat record. Housing releases and PulteGroup earnings will provide separate perspectives on housing activity.