Breakfast News: Big Banks Launch Earnings Season

Breakfast News: Big Banks Launch Earnings Season

April 13, 2026

Source: Image created by Jester AI.

1. Market Climbs for Second Week

We’re entering bank reporting season, after the stock market put in another positive week. The S&P 500 gained 3.6%, while the Nasdaq climbed 4.7%, after the threat of escalation of the Iran conflict subsided. The S&P 500 is within 1% of breaking even in 2026 year to date. S&P 500 futures, however, lost 0.6% this morning – with Nasdaq futures off by 0.7% – as President Trump again raised the heat after weekend negotiations with Tehran bore little fruit.

• Oil back over $100 again: The prospect of a blockade of all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz having called at Iranian ports pushed WTI crude to $105 per barrel, with Brent Crude hitting $103.
• Banks unofficially lead out the new reporting season: Goldman Sachs (GS +1.15%) kicks off first-quarter bank results before the opening bell today. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 1.36%), Wells Fargo (WFC 3.90%), and Citigroup (C 2.74%) are on the calendar for Tuesday. Bank of America (BAC 2.79%) and Morgan Stanley (MS +1.53%) report Wednesday.

2. Chip Crisis Drives Semiconductor Demand

Demand for agentic AI has climbed so high it’s leading to chip shortages and causing rationing of computing power and slowing of product roll-outs, reports The Wall Street Journal. But that’s got to be good news for revenue at major semiconductor companies, as a couple of widely held stocks report this week.

• “I do spend a lot of time trying to find any last-minute compute available”: OpenAI’s CFO Sarah Friar recently spoke of holding back on plans due to short supply – and will presumably be among those watching Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM 0.84%) as it releases Q1 figures Thursday. Taiwan Semi posted record results yet again with January’s Q4 results.
• **Beating the S&P 500 by 81% since March 2025 ****_Stock Advisor _**recommendation by Team Rule Breakers: Before that, we’ll have a Q1 update from ASML (ASML +4.89%) Wednesday, after the semiconductor fabrication developer reported its best-ever quarter for new orders in Q4.

3. Report: FTC to Settle Advertisers Probe

The Federal Trade Commission is in talks with a number of advertising companies over alleged coordinated boycotts of platforms including X, says the WSJ. A probe into possible federal antitrust law violations – covering WPP (WPP +1.12%), Japan’s Dentsu (DNTUY 1.98%), and others. WPP gained 1% in pre-market trading.

• “The only harm X has asserted is that its customers collectively chose X’s competitors over X”: The latest move follows last month’s dismissal by Senior U.S. Judge Jane J. Boyle of X’s lawsuit against companies including CVS Health (CVS +3.65%) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL +0.22%), claiming their boycotts violated antitrust.
• No admission of wrongdoing: The proposal reportedly means the ad companies will agree not to avoid media outlets for political reasons. Individual advertisers can still choose to avoid platforms hosting undesirable content.

4. Q1 Earnings From Selected Fool Recs

• Progressive (PGR 0.96%), recommended in SA by Team Hidden Gems, is due to report Wednesday, after the insurance company posted a 22% gain in earnings per share (EPS) in its final quarter of fiscal 2025. Analysts this time see an EPS rise of around 2.5% year over year, from revenue up close to 10%.
• Prologis (PLD +1.26%) will reveal its latest figures Thursday. Following the Dividend Investor rec’s modest 2% revenue rise in Q4, Fool analyst Anthony Schiavone said of the company: “I still think the market underappreciates its management team’s ability to create value.” There’s a 3.1% dividend yield forecast.
• Netflix (NFLX 0.91%) – an SA Foundational Stock from Team Rule Breakers – also reports Friday, with its first earnings update since losing the bidding battle for Warner Bros (WBD 0.04%). It’s the first results since Netflix raised subscription prices again last month too.

5. Your Take

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