Can Healthcare Stocks Snap
Out of Their Earnings Slump? Dear Reader,
Earnings are a funny thing.
When quarterly earnings reports became required in 1970, the company’s share price would rise or fall based on its current earnings.
If earnings were down from the previous year or quarter, the share price would come down.
On the other hand, if a company reported higher earnings, the stock would usually rip higher.
However, in the mid-90s, it started to become regular practice that companies, in addition to reporting their earnings, would also issue forward-looking guidance… looking ahead to future quarters and share their earnings expectations.
While only about 19% of S&P 500 companies issue forward guidance, it has become a driver of price movements.
Take for example…
Last week, I mentioned chip-maker QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) in our section of “bullish” earnings.
Estimates had the company reporting EPS of $3.39… a major increase over the previous quarter’s -$2.89. Here’s what I said last week:
Qualcomm has issued earnings and revenue beats in each of the last five quarters, and I see no reason why it won’t happen again.
Well, that’s exactly what happened. QUALCOMM reported EPS of $3.50, beating estimates by $0.11 per share.
Conventional wisdom tells us QCOM’s share price should have risen because of the earnings beat.
However, shares of QCOM dropped nearly 9%, all because the forward guidance issued by the company was short of Wall Street’s expectations.
This is why it pays to read the entire earnings report and not just glance at the top-line figures.
Now, let’s examine potentially “bullish” earnings for next week. “Bullish” Earnings to Watch These stocks are expected to beat their previous quarter’s earnings per share (EPS), and thus, if those expectations are met or exceeded, they could potentially trade higher.
For this screen, stocks must meet four criteria: - 10 or more analysts cover the stock.
- The average analyst recommendation is a “Buy.”
- It BEAT analysts’ EPS estimates for the previous quarter.
- The average analyst estimate for the current quarter's EPS is greater than the previous one.
Here are 10 companies that made this week’s list:  Nothing really stands out on this list aside from CVS Health Corp. (CVS).
The reason is that the health care sector of the market hasn’t been the strongest performer in 2026 (more on that in a bit).
However, with a previous quarter EPS of -$3.13, it’s hard to imagine CVS going anywhere but up.
If there is an earnings beat here for the drug store chain, it will be very slight, but it could certainly help pull the stock out of the “bearish” territory it’s in on Adam’s Green Zone Power Ratings system.
For the record, CVS has beaten EPS expectations in four of the last five quarters, but it’s annual EPS is trending lower than the year before.
Now, let’s look at potentially “bearish” earnings for next week… | 
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[See How It Works] | “Bearish” Earnings to Watch For our “bearish” earnings screen, we’re only looking for two things: - 10 or more analysts must cover the stock.
- The average analyst estimate for the current quarter's EPS is less than the previous quarter's.
We want companies that are covered by a sufficiently large group of Wall Street analysts who collectively expect the company to report a quarter-over-quarter decline in earnings.
Here are 10 companies that passed this screen:  Remember when I mentioned that health care has been a weak performer in the market so far this year?
This list further advances that thesis with Humana Inc. (HUM), Moderna Inc. (MRNA) and Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) all on the “bearish” list.
To further illustrate the struggles of the sector, look at this chart:  Year-to-date, the S&P 500 Health Care Sector is up just 0.64%, compared to the benchmark’s 0.54%.
In fact, the health care sector is the fourth-lowest performing sector of the market in 2026. Adam wrote about some of the woes facing the sector earlier this week.
The S&P 500 has also beaten health care sector returns over 1 year, 5 years and 10 years.
Needless to say, the sector has taken a beating of late, and the stocks being on the “bearish” list reinforce that.
Coming in at or below expectations will certainly put pressure on each of these stocks in Adam’s Green Zone Power Ratings system.
Regardless, it will be another interesting week for earnings.
That’s all from me today.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Until next week…
Safe trading, 
Matt Clark, CMSA®
Chief Research Analyst, What My System Says Today
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