The second-quarter 2026 earnings season officially gets underway this week with a handful of notable S&P 500 and Nasdaq companies reporting results. While the calendar is lighter than usual — the major U.S. banks don't kick off their reports until July 14 — investors will receive important early data points on consumer spending, air travel demand, and the global apparel market.
The week's two headliners are PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), reporting Thursday, July 9, and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), reporting Friday, July 10. Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) rounds out the week's notable reporters on Wednesday evening. Together, these three companies serve as barometers for consumer health, pricing power, and discretionary spending — all critical themes in a market still navigating elevated inflation, a 3.50%–3.75% federal funds rate, and lingering tariff uncertainty.
Q2 2026 earnings season context: FactSet projects S&P 500 earnings grew 23.3% year over year in Q2 2026, which would mark the second consecutive quarter of earnings growth above 20%. Zacks estimates blended S&P 500 earnings growth of 22.2% on 10.9% higher revenues — a historically strong backdrop heading into reporting season. A record-high number of S&P 500 technology companies issued positive EPS guidance for Q2, according to FactSet's July 2, 2026 Earnings Insight report.
PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with iconic brands including Pepsi, Lay's, Gatorade, Doritos, and Cheetos. Convenience foods account for approximately 55% of total revenue, with beverages making up the remainder. International markets contributed roughly 40% of both revenue and operating profits in 2024.
Key narrative drivers: Analysts will focus on segment-level organic revenue growth — particularly whether North American beverages and snacks can sustain pricing against consumer fatigue. Inflation and tariff-related cost pressures remain a concern, though PepsiCo has benefited from commodity hedging. International segments, particularly EMEA and Asia Pacific Foods, are expected to show stronger growth of 7–9% year over year. Full-year 2026 consensus EPS stands at approximately $8.63, up 6% from $8.14 in fiscal 2025.
Delta Air Lines is one of the world's largest airlines, operating more than 300 destinations across 50+ countries from hubs in Atlanta, New York, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Seattle, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Delta has historically generated strong international revenue from transatlantic routes. The company commands a market cap of approximately $61 billion.
Key narrative drivers: Delta kicks off Q2 earnings season for major U.S. airlines. Wall Street will focus on whether revenue growth can offset the year-over-year EPS decline. Premium cabin performance and international travel trends — especially transatlantic — will be closely watched. Management commentary on summer and fall bookings will be critical for forward guidance. Full-year 2026 consensus EPS stands at approximately $5.34, compared to the company's own higher guidance range of $6.50–$7.50.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a global apparel company best known for its iconic denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853, the company operates the Levi's brand across more than 100 countries through department stores, specialty retailers, approximately 3,000 company-operated stores, and a growing e-commerce platform.
Key narrative drivers: Investors will look for confirmation that Levi's direct-to-consumer strategy continues to drive higher-margin growth. Any acceleration in DTC would be viewed positively. Management guidance and commentary on consumer demand are expected to matter more than a narrow quarterly beat or miss on headline numbers.
This week's earnings reports serve as early temperature checks on three distinct corners of the consumer economy. PepsiCo's results will signal whether global consumer staples companies can sustain pricing power in the face of tariff-driven cost pressures — a theme relevant to peer companies like Coca-Cola (KO), Mondelez (MDLZ), and Procter & Gamble (PG). A miss or downward guidance revision from PEP could weigh broadly on the consumer staples sector (XLP ETF).
Delta's results will set the tone for the airline sector ahead of United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), and Southwest Airlines (LUV). A strong revenue report from DAL — even with a year-over-year EPS decline — could reinforce the bullish narrative in airline stocks, which have broadly outperformed the S&P 500 in 2026 as travel demand recovered. Weak forward guidance, however, would raise concerns for the broader travel and leisure complex.
Levi Strauss offers a window into discretionary consumer spending on apparel. LEVI's DTC channel performance and inventory management will be watched as a gauge for the broader specialty retail and apparel sector, including peers like Gap (GPS), PVH Corp (PVH), and Hanesbrands (HBI). A strong beat from LEVI could lift the entire apparel group heading into back-to-school season.
The week of July 14 marks a dramatic acceleration in earnings season, with five of the largest U.S. banks reporting on a single day. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Wells Fargo (WFC) all report Tuesday, July 14. JPMorgan's Q2 2026 consensus EPS stands at $5.49 on $48.7 billion in revenues — up 10.7% and 8.5% year over year, respectively. Bank earnings will provide critical insights into loan growth, net interest income, credit quality, and broader economic health.
The July 14–17 window also includes BlackRock (BLK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Morgan Stanley (MS), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), GE Aerospace (GE), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Netflix (NFLX), and 3M (MMM). This will represent one of the heaviest earnings weeks of the quarter and could set the directional tone for equities through the remainder of summer.
Beyond earnings, investors should monitor the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, scheduled for July 28–29. The Fed held rates steady at 3.50%–3.75% at its June meeting. Core PCE inflation stood at 3.4% year over year in May 2026, still above the Fed's 2% target, and approximately 78.5% of market participants expect no July rate hike per CME FedWatch.
The week of July 7, 2026 offers investors an early read on Q2 2026 earnings across consumer staples, airlines, and global apparel — three sectors that together paint a rich picture of consumer health, pricing power, and travel demand. PepsiCo's ability to sustain organic growth and defend margins, Delta's premium travel revenue performance, and Levi's direct-to-consumer momentum will all shape sector sentiment heading into the high-volume bank earnings week that follows. With S&P 500 earnings on track for a second straight quarter of 20%+ growth, the bar is high — but so are investor expectations for guidance heading into the second half of 2026.
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