We’re entering the quiet before the earnings storm. The Independence Day-shortened trading week is behind us. So is the June jobs report , and the long-awaited Honeywell Aerospace spin-off . Of course, something can always happen that surprises us and throws Wall Street for a loop. You might even argue we can count on that. But as far as the actual calendar is concerned, the first full week of July is light on both earnings and market-moving economic reports. The calm will not last. The trading week of July 13 to July 17 marks the official start of second-quarter earnings season with the nation’s biggest banks reporting; it will also feature June inflation data, where we’ll look for signs of a peak in oil-driven inflation. OK. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, here’s a closer look at the few things of note scheduled for this week — and an important market theme to watch. 1. Earnings: While there are no Club names reporting, a few household names with their pulses on the U.S. economy are on the docket. The biggest three reports are Levi Strauss on Wednesday evening, PepsiCo on Thursday morning, and Delta Air Lines before the bell Friday. Levi’s is all about the consumer. How are shoppers allocating their discretionary dollars given the recent rebound in inflation and affordability crunch resulting from higher oil prices? While the price of crude has plummeted, the price consumers pay at the pump has come down much slower. U.S. oil benchmark WTI crude is down 27% from a month ago, while the national average for a regular gallon of gas is 10.5% lower, according to AAA data as of Thursday. Moreover, the shock of higher prices is still fresh in people’s minds and may be coloring consumers’ purchasing decisions, despite signs that prices should retreat further. Some company-specific questions: Has its clever marketing push around the World Cup — specifically, FIFA forcing the company to cover up its logo at Levi’s Stadium in California — led to a tangible sales benefit? We’ll also listen for commentary on its efforts to win more female shoppers , something that CEO Michelle Gass has discussed with Jim Cramer on “Mad Money” in the past. Pepsi, meanwhile, can provide insight into inflationary pressures in the food industry. Commentary on demand dynamics amid growing GLP-1 adoption will be notable given our stake in Eli Lilly , the leading maker of obesity drugs. Pepsi and other food brands are leaning into protein-infused products, due in part to the rise of GLP-1s. While central bankers and economists often look at so-called core inflation gauges, which strip out food due to their price volatility, consumers cannot stop buying food. As a result, food inflation squeezes the amount of money people have left over to buy things like Levi’s jeans and plane tickets, which brings us to our next earnings preview. Delta Air Lines is probably the most interesting and informative of the three big reports. Because flight travel represents such a large discretionary cost, it can be a bit more revealing about consumer spending appetites than, say, Levi’s. The company can also enlighten us on how falling crude prices are translating into cheaper prices for finished goods — in this case, jet fuel. It’s worth noting that Delta is unique among its U.S. peers in that it owns an oil refinery , which gives them an edge on fuel costs. Jet fuel and diesel belong to the same group of refined petroleum products, known as middle distillates . As a result, jet fuel dynamics can offer some clues into diesel (certainly a big cost for Club names FedEx Freight and FedEx Corp ). The readthrough is a bit less direct for gasoline used in cars, however, given that gasoline comes from the light distillate fraction, when crude is heated, vaporized and separated. 2. Economic data: On the heels of Thursday’s weaker-than-expected June jobs report, we’ll get two updates this week on activity in the services sector — a broad and important collection of industries spanning healthcare, real estate, food and finance. On Monday, S & P Global issues its purchasing managers index for services providers at 9:45 a.m. ET. Then, a mere 15 minutes later, the Institute for Supply Management will release its own PMI for the services industry. While these reports differ somewhat, their goals are aligned: provide timely insights into business activity across the country, relying on survey responses from companies on the ground. Think of these as monthly checkups. Something we like about the ISM report, in particular, is it includes an anonymized “what respondents are saying” section, which offer nice details to complement the survey’s quantitative aspects. While we don’t make buy or sell decisions based on a single PMI reading, they figure into our understanding of the economy along with official government data and companies’ results and commentary. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors’ releases its existing home sales for June, where we’ll look for any signs of improvement in the sluggish U.S. housing market. Our position in Home Depot is a bet that, eventually, mortgage rates will decline to levels that unleash years of pent-up demand in housing, boosting its sales and profits. 3. AI trade: The final two trading days of last week brought vicious selling across the semiconductor industry and other artificial intelligence beneficiaries. As a result, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) have now traded to within a few percentage points of their 50-day moving averages. That’s a key technical level watched and used by traders, illustrating a stock or index’s trend. Within technical analysis , it can also act as a support level or resistance level. For that reason, we’ll be looking to see if the buyers step in to support the semiconductor trade that drove much of Wall Street’s strong start to 2026. Or, perhaps, the hopes of a less hawkish Federal Reserve, thanks to the cool June jobs report, keeps the broadening trade alive at the expense of the first-half winners. That rotation was quite evident in our portfolio across Wednesday and Thursday, with the likes of AI winner Corning selling off hard and once-unloved Johnson & Johnson finishing the week at a record close. While it’s rarely fun to see your stocks tumble, the Corning situation is a reminder of why we like to trim stocks after a parabolic move. We did just that on Tuesday, before the stock fell 23% across two days. The recent strength in J & J is a reminder of why we never give up on diversification . Week ahead Monday, July 6 S & P Global services PMI at 9:45 a.m .ET ISM services PMI at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, July 7 Before the bell: No reports of note After the bell: Penguin Solutions (PENG) Wednesday, July 8 Census Bureau’s wholesale trade report for May at 10 a.m. ET Federal Reserve June policy meeting minutes at 2 p.m. ET Before the bell: Helen of Troy (HELE) After the bell: Levi Strauss (LEVI), AZZ (AZZ) Thursday, June 9 Initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET Existing home sales at 10 a.m. ET Before the bell: PepsiCo (PEP), Simply Good Foods (SMPL) After the bell: WD-40 (WDFC) Friday, July 10 Before the bell: Delta Airlines (DAL) After the bell: No reports of note (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long FDXF, FDX, HD, HONA, JNJ, GLW and CAH. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
