Fed Interest-Rate Decision, Earnings From Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, Apple

A highly anticipated Fed meeting and the start of Magnificent 7 earnings highlight this week’s calendar.

The Federal Reserve isn’t expected to move on interest rates at this week’s meeting. Still, market watchers will parse comments from Chair Jerome Powell amid pressure from the White House to lower rates.

Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Tesla, and Apple are scheduled to report earnings this week, giving investors a look at the artificial intelligence trade and the state of play at some of the world’s biggest companies. Investors will also be following reports from Caterpillar, Boeing, General Motors, Visa, Mastercard, Exxon, and Chevron. 

Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing.

Fed to Issue First Interest Rate Decision of 2026

We won’t know until it happens: Will the Federal Reserve start the year with another cut to interest rates? Investors will find out on Wednesday when the Federal Open Market Committee issues its latest decision on the influential federal-funds rate. 

The FOMC has lowered rates at three consecutive meetings, but some officials have indicated that they wanted to see more economic data on inflation and the labor market before following up with additional cuts. Market participants have priced in a likelihood that the Fed will keep interest rates steady at the meeting after inflation data last week showed that prices remained elevated in November.

Market watchers will get a handful of additional economic data this week, including a delayed report on December wholesale inflation and an update on the U.S. trade balance.

Mag 7 Stalwarts, Telecom and Industrial Firms Highlight Earnings Calendar

Wednesday is also when several Magnificent 7 companies are scheduled to report, with investors watching for updates from Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Tesla. On Thursday, Mag 7 member Apple is due to report. Other noteworthy tech, auto, manufacturing, and financial firms are also slated to report financial updates.

Microsoft will report amid a decline in its share price to start the year. For Tesla, deliveries have slowed, prompting investors to look at new growth opportunities for the tech giant. The report from Facebook-parent Meta will likely provide more insight into the firm’s AI plans as it shifts away from its “metaverse” projects. AI will also likely be an important topic for Apple as its report on Thursday follows the iPhone maker’s recently announced partnership with fellow Mag 7 member Alphabet. 

Other tech firms are also likely to capture attention this week, including chipmaker Texas Instruments, chip equipment maker ASML, and tech stalwart IBM. Telecom firms AT&T and Verizon are also in the spotlight this week, while earnings from Caterpillar, Boeing, General Motors, Lockheed Martin, and steel producer Nucor could indicate the strength of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

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This Week’s Calendar

Monday, Jan. 26

• Durable-goods orders (November)
• Key Earnings: Nucor (NUE), Ryanair (RYAAY), Brown & Brown (BRO), W.R. Berkley (WRB), Steel Dynamics (STLD)

Tuesday, Jan. 27

• Consumer confidence (January)
• Key Earnings: UnitedHealth Group (UNH), RTX (RTX), Boeing (BA), Texas Instruments (TXN), NextEra Energy (NEE), Union Pacific (UNP), HCA Healthcare (HCA), Northrop Grumman (NOC), United Parcel Service (UPS), General Motors (GM)

Wednesday, Jan. 28

• FOMC interest rate decision
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell press conference
• Key Earnings: Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), ASML Holdings (ASML), International Business Machines (IBM), GE Vernova (GEV), AT&T (T), ServiceNow (NOW), Progressive (PGR), Starbucks (SBUX)

Thursday, Jan. 29

• U.S. trade deficit (November)
• More Data to Watch: Wholesale inventories (November), Factory orders (November), Initial jobless claims (Week ending Jan. 24)
• Key Earnings: Apple (AAPL), Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), Caterpillar (CAT), SAP (SAP), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Honeywell (HON), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Blackstone (BX)

Friday, Jan. 30

• Producer price index (December)
• Key Earnings: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), American Express (AXP), Verizon (VZ), Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

One More Thing

The 2026 tax filing season is here and legislative changes could change how you file your tax returns. Investopedia’s Elizabeth Guevara has more on what you need to know before getting started on your taxes.