Earnings playbook: A complete guide for investors to the first reports of the season

Published Wed, Jan 12 20222:44 PM EST

Sara Salinas @in/saracsalinas @saracsalinas

The first of the fourth-quarter reports come in this week, with a few major banks and a key airline on deck to set the stage for what could be a tumultuous earnings season. Companies are facing rising costs, labor shortages and revived Covid concerns as the omicron variant drives new cases. CNBC runs through the big reports this week. Thursday Delta Air Lines is set to report quarterly results sometime around 7 a.m. ET, with an investor call to follow at 10 a.m. Last quarter: DAL posted a profit , but it warned rising fuel prices would squeeze its fourth-quarter bottom line. This quarter: Wall Street expects Delta to put up a per-share profit and revenue that's more than double year-ago levels. What CNBC airlines reporter Leslie Josephs is watching: "As Delta kicks off airline earnings season, its executives will likely detail the financial toll of cancellations resulting from winter storms and crew shortages. Investors have largely shrugged off airlines' recent struggles, though, and will be looking for signs of whether a surge in Covid cases is impacting leisure and more lucrative corporate bookings. Delta executives will certainly face questions about whether the airline is sufficiently staffed and on its cost outlook for the year." What history shows: Traditionally, Delta stock trades higher the day after a quarterly report, but shares have fallen in next-day trading for three of the last four quarters, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Friday JPMorgan Chase will release earnings at 6:45 a.m. ET and host a call with executives at 8:30 a.m. Last quarter: JPM exceeded profit expectations , helped by a $1.5 billion boost from better-than-expected loan losses This quarter: Analysts are forecasting EPS 20% below the same period a year earlier What CNBC banking reporter Hugh Son is watching: "Bank stocks have been a big beneficiary of rising expectations for interest rates, and JPM is up first with 4Q earnings. CEO Jamie Dimon has said his bank was "effectively stockpiling" cash to deploy later when rates have climbed. Given the recent moves in Treasury yields, analysts will want to know what the bank's strategy is now." What history shows: JPMorgan shares have lost ground following an earnings report over five of the last six quarters, according to Bespoke, shedding roughly 2% each time. Wells Fargo is due to report earnings at 7 a.m. ET, followed by an