Last week was a masterclass in how earnings season can turn market darlings into dust… and laggards into legends.
We watched Apple $AAPL and Amazon $AMZN - two of the most powerful brands on earth - drop the ball for the 4th and 5th straight quarters, even after posting record-breaking metrics.
At the same time, lesser-followed names stole the spotlight, delivering monster beats and vertical pops.
Now, we turn the page to another blockbuster week.
The spotlight shifts to Sea Ltd. $SE, John Deere $DE, and Cisco Systems $CSCO - each sitting on technically explosive setups - alongside a crowded lineup of heavyweights in AI, energy, and more.
After reporting a double beat, Apple $AAPL had its 4th consecutive negative earnings reaction. In the report, we learned that the installed base of active devices reached all-time highs across all categories and geographies.
The world's largest retailer, Amazon $AMZN, reported a blockbuster earnings report, but fell more than 8% for its 5th consecutive negative earnings reaction. Their recent Amazon Prime Day was the best ever in terms of sales and sign-ups.
The diagnostics & research company, IDEXX Laboratories $IDXX, posted a massive double beat and soared 27.5% for its best earnings reaction ever.
One of the worst semiconductor stocks in the market, ON Semiconductor $ON reported mixed results and was punished with its worst earnings reaction in 7 quarters. Their revenue dropped an astounding 15.4% year-over-year.
One of the leaders in AI software, Palantir $PLTR posted one of the best earnings reports of this season. The stock skyrocketed to new all-time highs as a result.
The biopharma giant, Vertex Pharmaceuticals $VRTX, beat the market's headline expectations, but cratered over 20% for its 2nd-worst earnings reaction ever. This move was sparked by the Chief Science Officer, Mark Bunnage, announcing that he's leaving the company, and significantly worse forward guidance for one of its largest products.
The computer hardware giant, Arista Networks $ANET crushed the market's expectations and made a textbook gap-n-go to new all-time highs as a result. Revenue and net income surged 30.4% and 37.7%, respectively.
The ride-hailing giant, Uber Technologies $UBER, reported a double beat, but the market didn't like it for the 4th consecutive quarter. They also announced a new $20B share repurchase program, but it wasn't enough to spark a rally.
Uber's largest competitor, DoorDash $DASH posted better-than-expected headline results and decisively reclaimed its prior cycle peak. The stock has been rewarded for 4 of its last 5 earnings reports.
The world leader in GLP-1 drugs, Eli Lilly $LLY reported disappointing results and was severely punished for it. The stock made a textbook bearish gap-n-go and had its worst earnings reaction ever.
What's happening next week 👇
Next week, we have another monster lineup of names stepping up to the mic.
The reports we'll be monitoring closest are Sea Ltd. $SE, John Deere $DE, and Cisco Systems $CSCO.
Beyond those, we’ll hear from one of the data center leaders, CoreWeave $CRWV, the world's largest publicly traded stablecoin issuer, Circle $CRCL, the hot new Swiss shoe manufacturer On Holding $ONON, and many more.
It's set to be another eventful week, so there will be plenty to cover in The Daily Beat.
Now, let’s dig into the setups we’ll be closely monitoring next week.
Here's the setup in SE ahead of Tuesday's earnings report 👇
Sea Ltd. reports Tuesday before the open, with consensus calling for $4.98B in revenue and $0.86 EPS.
Price has been climbing up the right-hand side of a massive multi-year base since bottoming in early 2024.
Now, it's pressing up against the 38.2% retracement - a key level of interest that has been serving as resistance recently.
The bulls want to see a breakout to new multi-year highs to complete this base and open the door toward the 61.8% retracement.
Until then, this is still a test of overhead supply.
Here are SE's earnings trends 👇
The past 5 quarters have delivered exceptional revenue growth, with the last 5 all topping +22% year-over-year.
EPS growth has also been explosive in recent quarters, with triple- and quadruple-digit gains late last year and this year.
Historically, the stock has been a mixed bag when it comes to pre- and post-earnings drift.
The price has surged higher in reaction to 6 consecutive earnings reports, and we see no reason for it not to extend that streak this quarter.
Either way, we're confident the SE earnings reaction will be dramatic as always.
Here's the setup in DE ahead of Thursday's earnings report 👇
John Deere reports Thursday before the open, with estimates at $10.35B revenue and $4.57 EPS.
The stock decisively resolved a multi-year accumulation pattern earlier this year. Since then, it has carved out a textbook bullish continuation pattern.
This is exactly the kind of setup that can lead to a huge reaction leg higher if earnings cooperate.
Here are DE's earnings trends 👇
The story here is less about growth and more about resilience.
Revenue growth has been negative in 5 of the last 6 quarters, with EPS showing similar weakness - double-digit declines have been common recently.
Despite this, the stock has still delivered multiple positive earnings reactions, including an 8.05% surge last November and a 3.78% pop after its previous report.
Pre-earnings drift has been mostly slightly positive, suggesting traders often bid up shares into reports. But post-earnings drift is more mixed...
The bottom line is that despite some contraction in the fundamentals, the market has demonstrated a willingness to reward DE for surpassing lowered expectations.
Thursday’s earnings reaction is crucial for DE bulls if they want to keep this new uptrend alive.
Here's the setup in CSCO ahead of Wednesday's earnings report 👇
Cisco reports Wednesday after the close, with consensus calling for $14.62B in revenue and $0.98 EPS.
Price has been soaring higher and looks poised to retest the .com bubble peak.
Remember, CSCO was the darling of that bubble, rallying 7,775% in 6 years. There's little doubt in our minds that the market will acknowledge the 82 level, which marked the high in March 2000.
Here are CSCO's earnings trends 👇
Everything changed for this stock after its Q1 2025 earnings report, which snapped 4 consecutive quarters of negative revenue and earnings growth.
This also sparked a new streak of positive earnings reactions.
With the price skyrocketing to new multi-decade highs ahead of this report, it's clear that the market is anticipating another good quarter.
If the company fails to deliver, we expect a dramatic negative reaction.
On the flipside, if they give the market what it's looking for, we expect CSCO to test 82 for the first time since 2000.
Thank you for reading.
- The Beat Team
P.S. When it comes to uncovering dirt on stocks, there's no one better than Herb Greenberg.
He recently joined JC Parets in a special livestream to discuss why he's always skeptical of stocks, and why you should be too.
If you find our content valuable, we would greatly appreciate it if you could shareit with your friends, family, and colleagues. Your help in spreading the word is invaluable in supporting our work. Thank you to all of you who share!
