As we touched on earlier today, the latest US earnings season kicks off this week.
American companies are required to report their latest earnings every three months. That stands in stark contrast to the ASX. Here, six-month reporting periods are the norm.
Thanks to this quarterly schedule, there is always more news and more numbers to digest. There are also more share price swings and roundabouts on the US markets than there tend to be here in Australia.
It's quite an exciting period to be sure. Yes, it's always interesting to see how the likes of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), or Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) are faring. But I personally find it far more fascinating to take a look under the hood of companies like Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX).
As it happens, those four companies are set to reveal their updated books over the next fortnight.
Of those four stocks, Netflix is the first, with earnings set to be unveiled on Thursday, July 17, this week.
Coca-Cola's numbers are due out on Tuesday, 22 July.
Alphabet and Tesla will report the next day.
I'm excited to take a look at all four of these names. As a Coke shareholder, I'm interested to see how this holding has fared over the three months to 30 June.
Ditto with Alphabet. Much has been made of the supposed threats facing this company, given its primary breadwinner – Google Search – is facing competition from AI platforms like ChatGPT.
Some other US stocks I'll be watching this earnings season
But I'll also be watching companies that can be viewed as barometers of the US economy. For example, major American bank stock JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is due to report its earnings on Tuesday, 15 July.
Those might just give us an invaluable insight into the health of the US economy. This is arguably crucial at this juncture, as the effects of the Trump Administration's economic policies (tariffs and the like) are still uncertain.
Other 'bread-and-butter' companies might also be useful in this endeavour. That's why I'll also be keeping an eye on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Procter & Gamble Inc (NYSE: PG), Visa Inc (NYSE: V), and Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX).
Say these companies begin discussing dropping consumer sentiment or rising costs, thanks to the effects of the new tariffs. This could be something of a canary in the coal mine for the American economy, and it could have ASX implications.
So, over the next few weeks, I'll be keeping a weather eye on the American horizon as some of the world's biggest and most influential stocks reveal their latest numbers. It should make for some interesting reading.
