NAGHAM WRITES · THE WEEK AHEAD
Updated October 26, 2026
Week Ahead: October 26–30, 2026
Rates, inflation and the bill for AI. The Fed sets policy on Wednesday. Growth and inflation data arrive together on Thursday. Between those decisions, company earnings will show whether demand and cash generation are keeping pace with investment.
Market-moving events
All times are U.S. Eastern Time (ET). Results-release times and conference-call times are listed separately. For readers in Beirut, add six hours this week. Schedules can change.
Monday, October 26
Verizon earnings: results at 7:00 a.m.; call at 8:30 a.m. Watch subscriber growth, pricing and free cash flow. The question is whether the business can fund its network and dividend while continuing to grow.
Tuesday, October 27
September durable-goods orders at 8:30 a.m. Look beyond swings in aircraft orders to business equipment demand, especially nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.
October Consumer Confidence and September new-home sales at 10:00 a.m. Watch households’ views of jobs and income, alongside housing demand under current borrowing costs.
Visa earnings: after the market close; call at 5:00 p.m. Payments and cross-border volumes offer a window into consumer spending and travel demand.
Israel’s parliamentary election: election day. Watch coalition prospects and regional-policy signals. Final results and government formation may take longer than one day.
Wednesday, October 28
GE Vernova earnings: before the market opens; call at 7:30 a.m. Watch power and grid orders, backlog conversion and margins. Strong infrastructure demand matters most when it becomes profitable business.
Federal Reserve decision at 2:00 p.m.; press conference at 2:30 p.m. Read the decision alongside the Fed’s language on inflation, jobs and its next steps. The outlook can matter as much as the rate announced today.
Alphabet and Microsoft earnings: after the market close. Alphabet’s call is at 4:30 p.m.; Microsoft’s is at 5:30 p.m. Watch Google Cloud and Azure growth, revenue from AI products, capital spending and cash generation. For Alphabet, advertising demand is another key check.
Thursday, October 29
Caterpillar earnings: results at 6:30 a.m.; call at 8:30 a.m. Watch demand for power equipment and construction machinery, the order outlook and margins.
Q3 GDP advance estimate and September personal income, spending and PCE inflation at 8:30 a.m. Both reports are scheduled for Thursday. Read growth and inflation together: consumer spending and business investment in GDP; monthly core PCE inflation and real consumer spending in the income report.
Weekly initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Initial and continuing claims help show whether layoffs or difficulty finding work are increasing.
European Central Bank decision at 9:15 a.m.; press conference at 9:45 a.m. Watch its balance between inflation and growth, with possible effects on the euro, dollar and global bond yields. These ET times reflect Europe’s clock change.
Amazon and Intel earnings: after the market close; both calls at 5:00 p.m. For Amazon, watch AWS growth and margins, capital spending, free cash flow and the retail outlook. For Intel, focus on data-center demand, foundry progress, margins and cash needs.
Friday, October 30
Q3 Employment Cost Index at 8:30 a.m. Watch the pace of wage and benefit growth. This gives a broader view of compensation pressure than one month’s average hourly earnings.
ExxonMobil: results at 6:30 a.m.; call at 9:30 a.m. Chevron: results expected before the market opens; call at 11:00 a.m. Watch production, refining margins, capital spending and shareholder returns. Chevron’s reviewed event notice confirms the call time; the earnings calendar places results before the open without an exact release minute.
What matters most
The policy sequence: Thursday’s growth and inflation reports arrive after the Fed’s Wednesday decision. They can reshape expectations for the next meeting.
AI returns: Compare cloud growth and cash generation with the money being spent on infrastructure. GE Vernova and Caterpillar add evidence from the suppliers of power equipment.
Demand beyond technology: Visa, consumer confidence, housing and the oil majors help test how broadly demand is holding up.
Dates and times checked October 26, 2026 against official agency calendars and company investor-relations notices, with an earnings-calendar cross-check. The questions above are editorial analysis, not forecasts.