Now I have all the data needed to produce the full Week Ahead Preview. Let me compile this into clean HTML.
Week Ahead Preview — August 3, 2026
Published by Bihzuun Research | For educational purposes only. This publication does not constitute individualized investment advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All projections are estimates, not guarantees. The Bihzuun Value Filter (BVF) is a proprietary screening methodology; specific pass/fail thresholds are not disclosed.
📅 Economic Calendar
This week’s economic data will center on the labor market, with all eyes on Friday’s release of the July jobs report. Beyond Friday’s headliner, the market-moving U.S. releases over the next seven days include ISM Manufacturing PMI, ISM Services PMI, and the Employment Situation.
| Date | Release | Time (ET) | Market Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Aug 3 | S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (July, final) | 9:45 AM | Moderate — confirms/revises flash reading |
| Mon, Aug 3 | ISM Manufacturing PMI (July) | 10:00 AM | HIGH — key gauge of industrial health; reading above 50 = expansion |
| Mon, Aug 3 | Construction Spending (June) | 10:00 AM | Low — secondary macro data point |
| Tue, Aug 4 | International Trade Balance (June) & Factory Orders | 8:30 AM | Moderate — investors will focus on changes in imports, exports, and corporate equipment orders to assess the impact of trade policy and corporate capital expenditure on the U.S. economy |
| Wed, Aug 5 | ADP National Employment Report (July) | 8:15 AM | MEDIUM-HIGH — private-sector jobs preview ahead of Friday NFP |
| Wed, Aug 5 | ISM Services PMI (July) | 10:00 AM | HIGH — largest sector of U.S. GDP; a miss could reignite recession fears |
| Wed, Aug 5 | EIA Crude Oil Inventories / API Report | 10:30 AM | Moderate — relevant to Energy sector, inflation backdrop |
| Thu, Aug 6 | Initial Jobless Claims (week ending Aug 1) | 8:30 AM | MEDIUM-HIGH — weekly first-time unemployment insurance filings, released every Thursday at 8:30 ET, will set tone ahead of Friday’s NFP |
| Thu, Aug 6 | Preliminary Q2 Productivity & Unit Labor Costs | 8:30 AM | Moderate — inflation/wage input for Fed |
| Thu, Aug 6 | Fed Speakers: Daly, Collins, Cook | Various | HIGH — the Fed’s Daly, Collins, and Cook will speak on August 6; market parsing every word for September rate-cut signals |
| Fri, Aug 7 | 🔴 July Nonfarm Payrolls & Unemployment Rate | 8:30 AM | CRITICAL — #1 EVENT OF THE WEEK |
| Fri, Aug 7 | Fed Speakers: Bostic, Musalem | Various | The Fed’s Bostic and Musalem speak on August 7 — post-NFP commentary will be closely scrutinized |
🔍 Jobs Report Context
The June jobs report came in weaker than expected, with nonfarm payrolls adding 57,000 versus the consensus estimate of 100,000. The BLS also revised down prior months substantially: April 2026 payrolls were revised down 31,000 to approximately 148,000, and May 2026 payrolls were revised down 43,000 to approximately 129,000, a combined downward revision of 74,000 across the two months. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% from 4.3%, though the fall reflected a drop in labour force participation rate rather than genuine job creation. For the July print, Capital Economics expects the recent boost from state & local government hiring to fade, resulting in a smaller 130,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in July. Macro attention centers on the July nonfarm payrolls and ISM Manufacturing PMI, which will determine if the manufacturing sector is expanding or stagnating. Investors are closely monitoring these data points alongside Federal Reserve commentary to gauge the feasibility of a September rate cut, which remains essential to supporting current high-multiple equity valuations.
The most recent Consumer Price Index reading put U.S. headline inflation at 3.5% year-over-year (June 2026). CPI is not released this week (it prints mid-month), but the effective federal funds rate most recently stood at 3.63% (June 2026). It was a week dominated by the trade narrative as well as the Fed’s decision to keep rates unchanged amid a surprising split vote. Fed speakers this week will be crucial for calibrating September cut expectations.
📊 Earnings Calendar
The first full week of August features one of the busiest stretches of the reporting season, with several market heavyweights across AI, semiconductors, healthcare, energy, consumer, software, fintech, travel, and quantum computing set to release quarterly results.
| Day | Company (Ticker) | When | Consensus EPS Est. | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 8/3 | Marriott International (MAR) | Before Open | ~$3.08 | Consumer discretionary travel demand barometer |
| Mon 8/3 | Tyson Foods (TSN) | Before Open | ~$0.98 | Consumer staples protein pricing and margin read |
| Mon 8/3 | ⭐ Palantir Technologies (PLTR) | After Close | ~$0.34–$0.35 | Palantir is forecasting Q2 2026 revenues to be approximately $1.81 billion, an 81% year-over-year increase, with EPS expected to increase 119% to $0.35. AI software demand, government contracts, and full-year revenue guidance take center stage. |
| Mon 8/3 | Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) | After Close | ~$4.74 | Specialty pharma pipeline & CF franchise update |
| Tue 8/4 | ⭐ Caterpillar (CAT) | Before Open | $6.20 | Wall Street is calling for earnings of $6.20 per share, up 31.4% year over year (YoY), on revenue of $19.2 billion (+15.7% YoY). Global industrial, mining, and AI data center construction demand proxy. |
| Tue 8/4 | McDonald’s (MCD), Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK) | Before Open | Various | Consumer spending, pharma pipeline reads |
| Tue 8/4 | ⭐ Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) | After Close | $1.61–$1.67 | Analysts expect AMD earnings of $1.61 per share, up from 48 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenue is forecast to arrive at $11.3 billion (+47% YoY). Focus turns to AMD on Tuesday for AI hardware to meet the 12-gigawatt commitments from Meta and OpenAI. |
| Tue 8/4 | Amgen (AMGN), Arista Networks (ANET) | After Close | Various | Biotech pipeline; AI networking infrastructure |
| Wed 8/5 | ⭐ Eli Lilly (LLY) | Before Open | ~$8.84 | Analysts are projecting an EPS of $8.84 for the next earnings report on 08/05/2026. The stock may move ~6.9% on the August 5 earnings report. Tirzepatide/Zepbound volume and full-year guidance are the primary focus. |
| Wed 8/5 | ⭐ Shopify (SHOP) | Before Open | ~$0.37–$0.40 | Analyst projections point to earnings of $0.37 per share, with revenue estimates at $3.44 billion versus $2.68 billion in the prior-year period. Key metrics to watch include gross merchandise volume (GMV), subscription solutions revenue, merchant solutions revenue, and free cash flow margins. |
| Wed 8/5 | ⭐ Walt Disney (DIS) | Before Open | See below | Management guided for 12% adjusted EPS growth in fiscal 2026. Disney highlighted strong momentum in streaming, with Disney+ positioned as its “digital centerpiece,” and entertainment SVOD revenue growth accelerating to 13% in Q2. |
| Wed 8/5 | Uber (UBER), Novo Nordisk (NVO), CVS Health (CVS) | Before Open | Various | Consumer mobility, GLP-1 competitive read, pharmacy margins |
| Wed 8/5 | SanDisk (SNDK), AppLovin (APP), Western Digital (WDC) | After Close | Various | SanDisk will illustrate the demand destruction in NAND from its 53% drop and 18% recovery. AppLovin tests AdTech AI monetization thesis. |
| Thu 8/6 | ConocoPhillips (COP), Cloudflare (NET), Airbnb (ABNB) | Various | Various | Energy capex, cybersecurity demand, travel/leisure consumer health |
Analyst Spotlight — AMD: Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland anticipates “better earnings and guidance” on strong demand for AMD’s data center chips. The analyst believes market share gains from AMD’s MI350 GPU and EPYC CPU will support the near-term outlook, and its more advanced Helios and MI450 chips, as well as expanding hyperscale commitments, will support further growth.
📈 Technical Levels
Broad Market Indices
| Index | Recent Level | Key Support | Key Resistance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|