Week Ahead on Wall Street: Labor and Earnings

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Cloudy with a Chance of Jobs
It’s February and investors are still grappling with some of the same questions that kept them busy last month: How strong is the U.S. consumer? Will corporate earnings hold up enough to keep the market going strong? This week promises some clues, with a slew of economic data releases on deck. We’ll get updates on how many jobs are available in the U.S., as well as how consumers are feeling. But all eyes will be on Friday’s jobs report for January – the first datapoint for 2025, and the first report under the new administration.
The monthly snapshot of the labor market is always closely watched, but interpreting the January report may be a tougher task than usual. For one, the month was colder than usual (following a seasonally hot December), which could have temporarily affected hiring. That could make it harder to suss out what are emerging trends versus weather related one-off blips. Beyond that, the economic and social impacts from the California wildfires will also be felt for a while. For example, there could be some job losses in the short-term as normal lives have been upended, but the need to rebuild could actually boost local employment over the longer-term.
The Federal Reserve has made it clear that future interest rate decisions hinge on incoming data. And remember, jobs data represent half of the Fed’s dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability. A surprisingly strong jobs report could stoke fears that inflation could pick up again, potentially pushing the Fed to keep rates higher for longer. Conversely, a weak report could raise concerns about an economic slowdown and push the Fed to lower interest rates sooner or by more than investors currently expect (i.e. two interest rate cuts in 2025).
Meanwhile, investors will also have to digest a steady flow of corporate earnings. While over 200 companies in the S&P 500 have already reported results (including most of the big tech companies), this week still has the potential to shake things up with 136 S&P 500 constituents scheduled to report. Earnings have come in 6.5% above consensus estimates so far, and if that pattern continues this week the story of this earnings season will be one of continued strength for corporate America.
Economic and Earnings Calendar
Monday
- December Construction Spending: Construction data is a leading indicator of business activity.
- January ISM Manufacturing PMI: This index from the Institute for Supply Management tracks how purchasing managers across the manufacturing sector feel about the business environment.
- January Wards Total Vehicle Sales: Cars are a big ticket item for consumers, so underlying vehicle sales trends can help shine a light on demand for durable goods.
- Fedspeak: Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will discuss the economic outlook at the Rotary Club of Atlanta. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will give welcoming remarks at a St. Louis Fed event.
- Earnings: Clorox (CLX), Physicians Realty Trust (DOC), Everest RE Group (EG), Equity Residential (EQR), IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Tyson Foods (TSN)
Tuesday
- December Job Openings: A key measure of business demand for labor is the number of job openings, since reducing openings is easier and preferable to layoffs.
- December Factory and Durable Goods Orders: These metrics give insight into underlying trends for leading cyclical indicators.
- Fedspeak: Bostic will discuss housing at a National Housing Crisis Task Force meeting. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will participate in a moderate conversation at an event hosted by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California.
- Earnings: Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), Amcor PLC (AMCR), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Ametek (AME), Amgen (AMGN), Apollo Global Management, Inc (APO), Atmos Energy (ATO), Ball (BALL), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Cummins (CMI), Centene (CNC), Electronic Arts (EA), Estee Lauder Companies (EL), Enphase Energy (ENPH), Essex Property Trust (ESS), Fair Isaac (FICO), FMC (FMC), Fox Class B (FOX), Twenty-First Century Fox Class A (FOXA), Alphabet (Non-Voting Shares) (GOOG), Alphabet (GOOGL), Hubbell (HUBB), IDEX (IEX), Gartner (IT), Jacobs Engineering Group (J), Jack Henry & Associates (JKHY), Juniper Networks (JNPR), KKR & Co (KKR), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Merck & Co (MRK), Match Group (MTCH), Omnicom Group (OMC), PepsiCo (PEP), Pfizer (PFE), Pentair (PNR), Prudential Financial (PRU), PayPal (PYPL), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), Simon Property Group (SPG), TransDigm Group (TDG), Veralto Corporation (VLTO), WEC Energy Group (WEC), Willis Towers Watson Public (WTW), Xylem (XYL)
Wednesday
- January ADP Employment Report: This survey, usually released a day or two before the official government jobs report, offers insight into private sector employment trends.
- December Trade Balance: Trade, made up of exports and imports, is an important driver of economic activity.
- January S&P Global US PMIs: These indexes track how purchasing managers across different industries feel about the business environment.
- January ISM Services PMI: This index from the Institute for Supply Management tracks how purchasing managers across different services industries feel about the business environment.
- Fedspeak: Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will speak in a fireside chat at an event hosted by The Conference Board. Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee will speak at the Automotive Insights Symposium in Detroit.
- Earnings: Aflac (AFL), Align Technology (ALGN), Allstate (ALL), AvalonBay Communities (AVB), Bunge Global S.A. (BG), Boston Scientific (BSX), CDW (CDW), AmerisourceBergen (COR), Corpay (CPAY), Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH), Corteva (CTVA), Dayforce Inc (DAY), Disney (DIS), Emerson Electric Co (EMR), Ford (F), Fiserv (FI), Globe Life (GL), Hologic (HOLX), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), Johnson Controls International (JCI), Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA), McKesson (MCK), MetLife (MET), Molina Healthcare (MOH), News (NWS), News (NWSA), Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY), PTC (PTC), Qualcomm (QCOM), STERIS (STE), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), Bio-Techne (TECH), T Rowe Price Group (TROW), Uber (UBER), UDR (UDR)
Thursday
- January Challenger Job Cuts: The firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracks the number of layoff announcements each month by sector.
- 4Q Productivity and Unit Labor Costs: These measures provide a breakdown of how productive workers were per hour of work and at what cost.
- Fedspeak: Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak on the future of payments at an event with the Atlantic Council.
- Earnings: Amazon (AMZN), Air Products and Chemicals (APD), Aptiv (APTV), Becton Dickinson and Company (BDX), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), BorgWarner (BWA), CMS Energy (CMS), ConocoPhillips (COP), Camden Property Trust (CPT), Equifax (EFX), Expedia Group (EXPE), Fortinet (FTNT), Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT), Honeywell International (HON), Hershey (HSY), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), IQVIA Holdings (IQV), Kellogg (K), Kenvue Inc. (KVUE), Laboratory of America Holdings (LH), Linde PLC (LIN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Microchip Technology (MCHP), Mohawk Industries (MHK), MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX), Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR), Mettler-Toledo International (MTD), Principal Financial Group (PFG), Philip Morris International (PM), Regency Centers (REG), Ralph Lauren (RL), Snap-on (SNA), Tapestry (TPR), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), VeriSign (VRSN), Xcel Energy (XEL), YUM! Brands (YUM), Zimmer Biomet Holdings (ZBH)
Friday
- January Employment Situation Summary: This monthly blockbuster release from the Labor Department gives a comprehensive look at employment, wages, and hours worked in the previous month.
- February University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment: How consumers feel about economic conditions affect their spending habits. This survey places a particular focus on inflation and its trajectory.
- December Wholesale Inventories and Sales: Wholesalers often operate as an intermediary between manufacturers and retailers, serving as a key part of the goods supply chain.
- December Consumer Credit: Borrowing activity gives insight into broader economic activity.
- Earnings: Cboe Global Markets (CBOE), DTE Energy (DTE), FirstEnergy (FE), Fortive (FTV), Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), Kimco Realty (KIM), Motorola Solutions (MSI)
Disclaimer
SoFi Securities (Hong Kong) Limited and its affiliates (SoFi HK) may post or share information and materials from time to time. They should not be regarded as an offer, solicitation, invitation, investment advice, recommendation to buy, sell or otherwise deal with any investment instrument or product in any jurisdictions. Keep in mind that investing involves risk, and past performance of an asset never guarantees future results or returns. It’s important for investors to consider their specific financial needs, goals, and risk profile before making an investment decision.
SoFi HK does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information and will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of this information.
The information and materials may contain hyperlinks to other websites, we are not responsible for the content of any linked sites. The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi HK. These links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement. The risk involved in using such hyperlinks shall be borne by the visitor and subject to any Terms of Use applicable to such access and use.
Any product, logos, brands, and other trademarks or images featured are the property of their respective trademark holders. These trademark holders are not affiliated with SoFi HK or its Affiliates. These trademark holders do not sponsor or endorse SoFi HK or any of its articles.
Without prior written approval of SoFi HK, the information/materials shall not be amended, duplicated, photocopied, transmitted, circulated, distributed or published in any manner, or be used for commercial or public purposes.

About SoFi Hong Kong
SoFi – Invest. Simple.
SoFi Hong Kong is the All-in-One Super App with stock trading, robo advisor and social features. Trade over 15,000 US and Hong Kong stocks in our SoFi App now.