Week of July 10 to July 16, 2026 · Issue No. 04: Earnings Did the Sorting
The Friday Five Scoreboard
Track the week's strongest stocks, sectors, catalysts, and market rotation in one clean view.
Market Theme
Earnings Did the Sorting
The AI and semiconductor trade that led all year cracked, technology was the weakest sector, and money rotated into energy and defensives while a new earnings season separated the companies that beat from the ones that warned.
Best Sector
Energy +4.0%
The week's best sector by a wide margin as oil jumped double digits intraweek on the collapsed Iran ceasefire and Strait of Hormuz supply risk.
Top Stock
VOD +19.4%
e& agreed to sell its entire 16.2% stake to a vehicle backed by Xavier Niel for roughly $5.95 billion
Risk Tone
Neutral, Leadership in Transition
Cooler inflation and a calm VIX support stocks, but the market's leaders are being sold and the Federal Reserve meets July 28 and 29 with an oil driven inflation risk in play. Market Risk Score 51 of 100.
Weekly Leaderboard
This Week's Five
The Scoreboard ranks stocks based on weekly performance, catalyst quality, sector strength, volume confirmation, and risk-adjusted setup quality. A high score does not mean buy now. It means the stock deserves closer research.
S&P 500 -0.13% Nasdaq -1.24%for the week
| Rank | Ticker | Company | Weekly Return | Sector | Catalyst | Friday Five Score | Actionability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BLK | BlackRock | +6.61% | Financials | Earnings BeatRecord $15.34 trillion in assets under management and a second quarter earnings and revenue beat | 88 | Fresh Breakout |
| 02 | VOD | Vodafone Group | +19.42% | Communication Services | Ownership Changee& agreed to sell its entire 16.2% stake to a vehicle backed by Xavier Niel for roughly $5.95 billion | 84 | News Spike |
| 03 | AEHR | Aehr Test Systems | +10.48% | Technology | Guidance RaiseRecord bookings and fiscal 2027 guidance of roughly $130 to $150 million, more than double the prior year | 78 | Watch Pullback |
| 04 | IBM | IBM | -25.82% | Technology | Profit WarningPreannounced a second quarter miss; worst single day drop in company history | 72 | Avoid for Now |
| 05 | PNR | Pentair | -11.91% | Industrials | Guidance CutCut full year guidance on pool channel destocking, alongside a surprise CFO departure | 68 | Avoid for Now |
Returns are measured from the Thursday, July 9 close to the Thursday, July 16 close. Benchmarks: S&P 500 -0.1% and Nasdaq Composite -1.2% for the week. Benchmark figures are official index closes; sector figures use SPDR sector ETF closes because the official S&P sector index closes for this window were not yet published at press time.
What the labels mean
None of these labels is a buy or sell instruction. They describe the shape of the move, so you know how much caution the setup deserves before you research it.
Fresh Breakoutjust cleared a meaningful price level with volume behind it. The move is young.
Extendedalready far above its recent base after a long run. The risk of a pullback is elevated.
News Spikethe move came from a single headline. It can fade as quickly as it arrived.
Watch Pullbackworth researching, but a calmer entry may come if the price cools off.
Avoid for Nowthe setup, the risk, or the story does not justify research time this week.
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