The Best Week of the Year. Records Shattered. Earnings Rewrote the Playbook.
This was one of the most consequential weeks in recent market memory. Five Magnificent Seven companies reported earnings, the Fed held its last meeting under Jerome Powell, oil crossed $100 a barrel mid-week, and the S&P 500 closed above 7,200 for the first time ever. The bulls ran the table.
📊 Weekly Scorecard
| Index | Friday Close | Weekly Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,230.12 | +1.27% |
| Nasdaq | 25,114.44 | 🎉 First-ever close above 25,000 |
| Dow Jones | 49,499.27 | -0.31% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,812.82 | +2.10% |
Wrapping up a momentous week for corporate earnings, in which reporting companies accounted for more than two-fifths of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization, analysts now see aggregate first-quarter earnings growth of 27.8% year-on-year — an 11.7 percentage point increase from where the estimate stood just a week ago, and the biggest earnings growth since Q4 2021. Yahoo Finance
🗓️ Day-by-Day Highlights
Monday, April 28 — The S&P 500 began the week with measured gains as investors anticipated a historic earnings calendar. Verizon raised full-year guidance and Visa surged 10% on consumer spending resilience. Oil briefly crossed $100/barrel for the first time since 2022. Yahoo Finance
Tuesday, April 29 — An OpenAI revenue miss reported by the Wall Street Journal rattled AI sentiment, snapping an 18-day winning streak for semiconductor stocks. Spotify tumbled 9% on weak ad revenue while Robinhood fell 10% on a 47% decline in crypto trading fees. Charles Schwab
Wednesday, April 30 — The Fed held rates unchanged in what was almost certainly Jerome Powell’s final press conference as Chair. Then came the 80-second earnings blitz: Alphabet delivered a blowout quarter with Google Cloud growing 63% to $20 billion. Meta beat on revenue but spooked investors by raising capex guidance to $125–$145 billion. Microsoft beat estimates but slipped slightly after hours. Yahoo Finance
Thursday, May 1 (morning) — Caterpillar soared nearly 10% after reporting 22% revenue growth driven by data center demand. Eli Lilly surged 9% on 56% revenue growth. Qualcomm jumped 16% on a strong beat and AI chip disclosures. The S&P 500 broke 7,200 for the first time, closing at 7,209. Yahoo Finance
Friday, May 2 — The Nasdaq crossed 25,000 for the first time in history, powered by Apple’s earnings beat — services revenue hit a record $30.98 billion. Reddit surged 12% on strong user growth while Roblox crashed 21% after slashing its annual bookings guidance. Spirit Airlines fell 62% as liquidation plans emerged. TipRanks
🏆 Week’s Biggest Winners
- 🟢 Qualcomm (QCOM) +16% — AI chip engagement with hyperscaler confirmed
- 🟢 Alphabet (GOOGL) +9–10% — Best day since April 2025; Google Cloud +63%
- 🟢 Caterpillar (CAT) +10% — Record high; data center demand roaring
- 🟢 Eli Lilly (LLY) +9% — Mounjaro +125%, Zepbound +80%
- 🟢 Visa (V) +10% — Consumer spending resilient despite $4+ gas
- 🟢 Reddit (RDDT) +12% — DAU beat, revenue guidance impressed
- 🟢 Seagate (STX) +17% — AI memory demand surging
- 🟢 NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) +15% — Industrial chip comeback
📉 Week’s Biggest Losers
- 🔴 Poet Technologies (POET) -50% — Lost Marvell/Celestial AI contract
- 🔴 Meta (META) -9% — Capex raised to $125–$145B; investors punished the spending
- 🔴 Roblox (RBLX) -21% — Bookings guidance slashed; age verification backfired
- 🔴 Spirit Airlines -62% — Preparing to liquidate; $500M rescue fell through
- 🔴 Robinhood (HOOD) -10% — Crypto fees collapsed 47% YoY
- 🔴 Spotify (SPOT) -9% — Ad revenue declined 5% year-over-year
- 🔴 Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) -10% — Missed Q1 earnings expectations
🤖 The AI Verdict Is In
The S&P 500 notched fresh records even as oil prices rose and the Strait of Hormuz nearly crawled to a halt. BlackRock noted this shows the AI mega force is shaping up stronger than envisaged. Previous market skepticism over AI — that major players were spending heavily but not making money — is dissipating and turning into belief. AI adoption is rising and revenue growth is accelerating. Morningstar
One theme reinforced all week: AI capital spending isn’t slowing, with outlays approaching $700 billion in 2026. Markets are rewarding AI spending that shows near-term monetization — as seen with Alphabet — and punishing spending without clear incremental returns, as seen with Meta. CNBC
🌍 The Macro Backdrop
Investors are looking past the Iran war, but the rebound has been uneven. Risk assets have recovered as growth risks appear manageable, AI remains a tailwind, and earnings have held up. Rate-sensitive assets have lagged and oil has pulled back from its peaks but remains above pre-conflict levels, keeping inflation concerns alive. Yahoo Finance
Q1 2026 blended earnings growth now stands at 27.1% — the highest since Q4 2021 and the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Of companies that have reported, 84% beat EPS estimates — the highest beat rate since Q2 2021. TipRanks
🔭 Looking Ahead to the Week of May 4
Next week brings April nonfarm payrolls, and a new round of major earnings: Palantir, AMD, Arm Holdings, Disney, Uber, Shopify, Airbnb, and Coinbase all report. Kevin Warsh is widely expected to be confirmed as the next Fed Chair — ushering in a new era of monetary policy. CNBC
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