Earnings season is shifting into high gear in the final week of January, with six Dow Jones components, and more than a fifth of the S&P 500 companies reporting. With the Dow rallying to its highest level since October 2007 and the S&P hitting 1,500, expectations are building for a range of industries to reveal a strengthening economy.
(Read More: Why S&P 1,500 May Signal Stock Rally Has Peaked.)
We'll hear from a number of industrials, including Caterpillar Monday morning and Boeing before the bell Wednesday. With so much focus on the Dreamliner debacle, investors will hope to hear more guidance on how it'll impact the company's bottom line. And Caterpillar will be watched as a bellwether for the global economy.
(Read More: Whistleblower Says Dreamliner Batteries Could 'Explode'.)
Internet companies will be in focus with Facebook reporting its fourth quarter results after the bell Wednesday. With the stock making dramatic gains on various new monetization efforts, Wall Street's waiting to see whether the company will live up to heightened expectations.
When Yahoo reports after the bell Monday we'll hear what kind of progress CEO Marissa Mayer is making in her brief tenure. While Facebook and Yahoo reveal what's happening with online advertising, we'll get a peek into the TV advertising market when Viacom reports Thursday morning.
When Amazon reports after the bell Tuesday we'll see how well its Kindle lineup sold over the all-important holiday season. On the component side, we'll hear from VMWare Monday afternoon, EMC Tuesday morning, and Qualcomm Wednesday afternoon.
(Read More: The Odd Season: Good Earnings, Nervous CEOs.)
It's also a big week for energy companies, with Chevron and Exxon Mobil both reporting Friday morning, while Royal Dutch Shell reports early Thursday. ConocoPhillips reports Wednesday after the bell, though its conference call isn't scheduled until Thursday morning.
With Exxon Mobil slowly making gains on Apple, on track to once again have the largest market cap of any company in the world, we'll see whether the sector can hold on to its gains. And with demand for energy a proxy for global growth, we'll see what these companies reveal about a growing global population's demand for heating and transportation fuel.
We'll hear from a slew of health care companies—Biogen Monday morning, Pfizer and Lilly Tuesday morning, AstraZeneca Thursday morning, and Merck Friday morning. Performance of blockbuster drugs are always in the spotlight, as is news on regulatory approvals.
Automakers are also likely to make headlines, with Ford reporting before the bell Tuesday, Fiat-Chrysler before the bell Wednesday, and Honda before the bell Thursday. These earnings come on the heels of Honda recalling three quarters of a million cars, and Ford restarting production at a Belgium factory after a worker protest.
(Read More: US Auto Sales Expected to Drive Past 15 Million in 2013.)
We'll also hear from a slew of financials, including a pileup of reports Thursday morning: Deutsche Bank, Nasdaq OMX, MasterCard, and Blackstone, followed by Chubb that afternoon. The week also bring Allstate Tuesday afternoon and Aon Friday morning.
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