Earnings Today: AXP, VZ, NEE, HCA, SLB Report Q2 2026 Results

Introduction

Friday, July 24, 2026 brings a significant round of Q2 2026 earnings reports from some of the most closely watched names in U.S. markets. American Express, Verizon Communications, NextEra Energy, HCA Healthcare, and SLB are all scheduled to report before the opening bell, giving investors a broad read on consumer spending, telecommunications, clean energy, healthcare services, and oilfield activity.

The reports arrive near the peak of second-quarter earnings season. With the S&P 500 up roughly 10% year-to-date through mid-July, investors are scrutinizing management guidance closely — particularly any commentary on consumer resilience, macroeconomic conditions, and capital spending. Today's roster spans five major sectors, making it one of the more consequential single-day earnings calendars of the summer.

Companies Reporting Earnings Today — July 24, 2026

American Express (NYSE: AXP) — Before Market Open

American Express is one of the world's largest payments and financial services companies, operating a closed-loop credit card network that spans more than 100 countries. Unlike Visa or Mastercard, AmEx both issues cards and processes transactions, giving it direct relationships with cardholders and merchants.

Analysts expect American Express to report Q2 2026 earnings of approximately $4.40 per share, according to Zacks Consensus estimates, representing a 7.8% increase from $4.08 per share in Q2 2025. Revenue consensus sits near $19.7 billion, implying year-over-year growth of roughly 10%.

The report comes shortly after the completion of a major refresh to AmEx's flagship U.S. Platinum Card product. The company raised the annual fee to $895 while adding a broad range of new lifestyle and travel credits. In Q1 2026, U.S. Consumer Platinum spending ran roughly 6 percentage points above prior trend, and card fee revenue grew 16% year-over-year. Analysts will want to see whether that momentum continued in Q2.

AmEx has provided full-year 2026 guidance for EPS between $17.30 and $17.90, with revenue growth of 9% to 10%. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in three of the last four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of approximately 4%.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) — Before Market Open

Verizon is the largest U.S. wireless carrier by revenue, serving more than 140 million retail connections. The company completed its $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications in late 2025, adding millions of fiber internet subscribers and expanding its broadband footprint across 25 states.

Wall Street expects Verizon to report Q2 2026 earnings of approximately $1.27 per share on revenue of about $35.2 billion. The EPS estimate would represent a 4.1% increase from $1.22 in Q2 2025. Verizon has beaten EPS estimates in six of its last seven quarters, with an average surprise of roughly 3.2%.

The Q1 2026 report was notable for the company's first positive Q1 postpaid phone net adds in over a decade. Management raised its full-year adjusted EPS growth guidance to a range of 5% to 6%. Investors will pay close attention to postpaid phone net adds, wireless churn, and Frontier integration progress in Q2.

NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) — Before Market Open

NextEra Energy is the world's largest producer of wind and solar energy and one of the largest U.S. electric utilities. The company operates two primary segments: Florida Power & Light (FPL), a regulated utility serving nearly 6 million customers, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops renewable energy and battery storage projects.

Analysts expect NextEra to report Q2 2026 earnings of approximately $1.10 per share on revenue of roughly $8.15 billion, according to consensus estimates from 13 analysts. The revenue forecast would represent year-over-year growth of more than 21%, driven by new renewable projects entering service and infrastructure to serve data center customers.

NextEra has set FY 2026 EPS guidance of $3.92 to $4.02 per share and has maintained a 10% annual dividend growth target through 2026. Its Energy Resources segment reported a backlog of nearly 28 gigawatts after placing 0.7 GW of new projects into service in Q1 2026, reflecting strong demand for clean power.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) — Before Market Open

HCA Healthcare is the largest for-profit hospital operator in the United States, running approximately 190 hospitals and 2,000 sites of care across 20 U.S. states and the United Kingdom. It is one of the most closely watched bellwethers in the healthcare services sector.

HCA issued a preliminary earnings preview earlier this month, preannouncing Q2 2026 revenue of approximately $20.23 billion — up 8.7% from $18.61 billion in Q2 2025 — and net income of approximately $1.699 billion, or $7.62 per diluted share, up from $6.83 per share a year earlier.

Same-facility admissions increased 2.5% and emergency room visits rose 3.6% year-over-year, while same-facility surgeries declined modestly. Those preliminary figures came in above the Zacks consensus EPS estimate of $7.41 and the analyst revenue consensus of roughly $19.92 billion — suggesting a meaningful beat. Today's full report will include conference call commentary on labor costs, payer mix, and full-year guidance.

SLB (NYSE: SLB) — Before Market Open

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, is the world's largest oilfield services company, providing technology, equipment, and integrated services across the full lifecycle of oil and gas development. The company operates in more than 100 countries and employs approximately 109,000 people.

Analysts expect SLB to report Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of approximately $0.52 on revenue of approximately $8.68 billion. The EPS figure would be down roughly 29.7% from a year ago, reflecting weaker international drilling activity — particularly in Saudi Arabia, where Aramco has been reducing rig counts. Revenue of $8.68 billion would be up roughly 1.5% year-over-year.

Analyst sentiment heading into the report has been negative, with 14 downward EPS revisions against five upward revisions over the past three months. The company's digital services business — software platforms and data analytics for subsurface optimization — is a potential bright spot that could partially offset headwinds in traditional drilling services.

Key Storylines to Watch

Consumer Spending and Credit Quality

American Express serves as a high-frequency proxy for affluent consumer spending. AmEx's cardholder base is heavily weighted toward high-income and small business customers, meaning strong billed business growth tends to confirm upper-end consumer resilience. Credit quality metrics — net write-off rates and delinquency levels — will receive attention given the current rate environment.

Verizon's Wireless Turnaround and Frontier Integration

After years of subscriber losses in postpaid wireless, Verizon produced a historic positive Q1 2026 postpaid phone net add number. Whether that improvement continues in Q2 — and what early synergy data from the $20 billion Frontier acquisition looks like — will shape expectations for the rest of 2026.

NextEra and AI-Driven Power Demand

NextEra is one of the most direct public proxies for the intersection of clean energy investment and AI infrastructure demand. Data centers require enormous and reliable power, and NextEra has positioned its pipeline of renewable generation projects to serve this need. Backlog updates and Power Purchase Agreement announcements will be closely watched.

Healthcare Cost Trends and HCA's Preliminary Beat

HCA's preannouncement was a positive signal for the hospital sector after a period of uncertainty around labor costs and government reimbursement. The official earnings call will provide the first opportunity to hear detailed management commentary on costs and the full-year outlook.

SLB and International E&P Spending

SLB's report will provide a comprehensive view of international exploration-and-production activity levels in Q2, particularly relevant for understanding how OPEC+ production management and oil price levels are filtering through to oilfield services demand.

Market Impact

American Express is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A strong report tends to support financial sector ETFs such as XLF (Financial Select Sector SPDR). Peers Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), and Capital One (COF) often trade in sympathy.

A strong Verizon result would provide support for telecom sector ETFs including XLC (Communication Services Select Sector SPDR) and IYZ (iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF). AT&T (T), which reports separately, would likely be affected by Verizon's wireless metrics.

NextEra's result is a key driver for utilities sector ETF XLU and clean energy ETFs including ICLN. Peer regulated utilities Duke Energy (DUK) and Dominion Energy (D) often trade in sympathy.

HCA's results influence the entire hospital operator sector. Tenet Healthcare (THC), Universal Health Services (UHS), and Community Health Systems (CYH) are likely to move in reaction to management guidance. Healthcare sector ETF XLV may also respond.

SLB's results will shape near-term expectations for Baker Hughes (BKR) and Halliburton (HAL), both reporting within days. The VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH) is the most direct sector vehicle to watch.

What Investors Should Watch Next

Each of today's companies will host conference calls following their reports, with webcasts beginning between 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM ET. Guidance updates from American Express and NextEra Energy in particular will be closely scrutinized for any changes to full-year outlooks.

The final week of July remains extremely busy. Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) report Q2 results on Friday, July 31, providing a complete picture of the integrated oil majors. Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Amazon all report in the final days of July, representing some of the most consequential Magnificent 7 prints of the entire Q2 season. Procter & Gamble (PG) and ADP report July 29, adding consumer staples and payroll data to the mix.

Conclusion

July 24, 2026 delivers a concentrated cross-section of the U.S. economy in a single morning. American Express tests the health of the affluent consumer and the strength of the premium card model. Verizon signals where the telecom market stands after a year of heavy investment. NextEra Energy reflects confidence in clean power and AI-driven electricity demand. HCA Healthcare's pre-announced results have already set a positive tone for the hospital sector. And SLB's numbers will define the near-term outlook for global energy services.

Collectively, today's reports help investors calibrate expectations across consumer finance, telecommunications, utilities, healthcare, and energy — sectors that together account for a substantial share of the S&P 500's earnings base heading into the second half of 2026.

Sources

• Zacks Investment Research — "Can AmEx Beat Q2 Earnings on Higher Network Volumes" — finance.yahoo.com — July 2026
• AlphaStreet — "Verizon Communications (VZ) Q2 2026 Preview: EPS Est. $1.27, Reports July 24" — news.alphastreet.com — July 20, 2026
• AlphaStreet — "NextEra Energy (NEE) Q2 2026 Preview: EPS Est. $1.10, Reports July 24" — news.alphastreet.com — July 2026
• HCA Healthcare Investor Relations — "HCA Healthcare Previews Second Quarter 2026 Results" — investor.hcahealthcare.com — July 2026
• Seeking Alpha — "SLB heads into Q2 earnings with digital business, outlook under the spotlight" — seekingalpha.com — July 23, 2026
• Zacks Investment Research — "SLB Scheduled to Report Q2 Earnings" — zacks.com — July 2026
• Yahoo Finance — Earnings Calendar July 24, 2026 — finance.yahoo.com — July 24, 2026
• Investing.com — Earnings Calendar July 24, 2026 — investing.com — July 24, 2026
• MarketWatch — AXP Analyst Estimates — marketwatch.com — July 2026
• TIKR.com — "American Express Stock Bull Case: How the Platinum Card Refresh Changes Everything in 2026" — tikr.com — July 2026
• ii.co.uk — US earnings season Q2 2026 calendar — ii.co.uk — July 2026