Apple, the midterms and a jobs report: five days that could set the tone for November

Wall Street starts November on the back foot. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have fallen for three weeks in a row, their longest run of weekly losses since March, and Friday’s 2.9% slide in the Nasdaq capped its worst month since early 2025. The coming week packs results from some of the market’s largest companies, a national election and a key reading on the economy into five trading days.

Monday: Apple and Palantir

Apple reports its September-quarter results after the market closes on Monday, with a call at 5 p.m. New York time. Analysts expect earnings of $1.98 a share, up from $1.85 a year earlier, according to the consensus Nasdaq publishes. Apple is the largest company reporting this week, with a market value of about $5 trillion, so its numbers can move the whole index.

The quarter ended in late September and includes only about a week of sales of the newest iPhones, so investors are likely to focus on Apple’s forecast for the holiday quarter and on its profit margins, at a time when memory chips have become more expensive across the industry.

Palantir, the data-analysis software company, reports at the same time. In August it guided for third-quarter revenue of $2.160 billion to $2.164 billion, after sales grew 93% in the second quarter.

Tuesday: the midterms and AMD

Americans vote on Tuesday for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about a third of the Senate. Investors will watch for any change in control of Congress and what it could mean for policy on energy, permits and AI, all of which affect the data-center building that has driven the market this year. Results in close races can take days, so election news may run into midweek.

After the close, AMD reports. It guided for third-quarter revenue of about $13 billion, plus or minus $300 million, up from $11.5 billion in the second quarter, and analysts expect earnings of $1.68 a share against 97 cents a year ago. After Intel’s collapse on Friday and a drop of more than 15% in chip stocks over October, AMD’s comments on demand for its AI processors will be read across the whole sector. Amgen and Booking Holdings also report on Tuesday evening, and Pfizer and Shopify in the morning.

Wednesday and Thursday: the busiest days

Wednesday is the busiest day of the week, with 240 companies worth $2 billion or more reporting, according to Stock Titan’s calendar. Uber reports before the open, and McDonald’s is expected the same morning, although it has not confirmed the date. Together they give a read on how consumers are spending on rides, deliveries and fast food. Qualcomm follows after the close, with analysts expecting $1.46 a share. Thursday brings ConocoPhillips, Airbnb and Cloudflare among about 235 reports.

Friday: jobs and the Fed

The government’s October employment report comes out on Friday at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Economists expect employers to have added about 55,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to hold at 4.2%, according to FactSet figures cited by CNBC. September’s report showed a gain of only 29,000 jobs.

The numbers matter for interest rates. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4.00% on October 28, but two voting members, Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack, wanted to raise it. Before that meeting, futures traders were already pricing about a 73% chance of an increase at the Fed’s next decision on December 9, and later estimates have been higher. A strong jobs number could firm up those bets and push bond yields higher, which tends to weigh most on expensive growth stocks. A very weak one would raise fresh worries about the economy.

What to keep in mind

Last week showed that good results are not enough on their own. Intel beat forecasts and still lost almost 29% in a day, and Amazon’s cloud business sped up while its shares fell. For the rest of earnings season, the market’s attention is likely to stay on forecasts and cash flow rather than on last quarter’s numbers.