Another earnings season is upon us. I’m still bullish on AI growth, but there are a few differences here in October that I think we need to pay attention to.
On the AI front, I do expect more chatter about the pace of growth and whether all that AI investment is translating into sustainable profits.
We’re also potentially in a rising interest rate environment, even if additional rate hikes are spread out. Significant moves in Treasury yields can directly affect the attractiveness of stocks as an investment, and what companies say about their future business conditions may be just as important as their Q3 numbers.
The point is, we can’t trade with blinders on in this environment. But that doesn’t mean you have to look at a thousand charts, either. You have to pick what you’re going to follow and develop a manageable routine.
And earnings preparation is one part of that.
You may have a trading edge, but it sharpens when you know what’s coming on the calendar.
Why Earnings Season Matters for Traders
Since I’m an E-mini S&P 500 futures trader, I’m starting with the stocks in the S&P 500.
The biggest thing I’m looking for is the potential impact on ES depending on which stock is reporting.
For example, Nvidia reporting earnings is likely to have a much greater impact on my ES futures trading than a company like Delta Air Lines, which is important early in earnings season but isn’t nearly as influential on the index.
Knowing when we have a heavy earnings calendar is also important because after-hours activity in heavyweight stocks can feed directly into overnight futures activity.
What all this does is provide context for my trading.
How I’m Using AI to Prepare for Earnings Season
Now, here’s something I’ve developed recently. I’ve actually trained AI, specifically Claude, to reliably pull the S&P 500 components and give me daily and weekly reports showing which companies are reporting earnings, along with pertinent news surrounding them.
This has saved me time because I no longer have to search multiple websites to pull everything together. I’m having AI do that work for me.
And you could develop a similar process for your own trading universe. Here’s free downloadable AI prompt in PDF format to get you started>>
3 Steps to Build Your Earnings Season Watchlist
Whether you’re using AI or gathering the information manually, here’s how I’d approach it.
Step 1: Determine your world of stocks.
It could be your personal watchlist, the Nasdaq 100, Dow 30, S&P 500, or even international stocks.
It’s kind of impossible to manually follow thousands of companies reporting earnings. Just pick a lane to start. You can always change it up later.
Step 2: Build your earnings release watchlist.
At a minimum, you’ll want:
- The company/stock ticker symbol
- The expected earnings date
- The time of day of the release (before market open, after close, etc.)
- Whether the date is confirmed, since these can change
You can use AI to help you gather this information or pull it manually from earnings calendar websites such as Market Chameleon, Investing.com, or MarketBeat.
Just make sure you’re verifying the information, particularly when using AI.
Step 3: Sort chronologically and keep it updated.
Bring the tickers into an order corresponding to how soon each company is reporting, so you can focus on what’s coming up rather than getting bogged down by what’s weeks out.
In my case, AI is now doing much of that ongoing work for me.
Especially if you’re trading index futures, it’s really helpful to know which companies are reporting earnings as you navigate the market day to day.
And remember, earnings are only one part of the broader market environment. You don’t have to monitor everything, but you do want a process that gives you the context you need.
In fact, during yesterday’s First 40 Trading Club Office Hours, I shared in detail how I’ve updated my own pre-market analysis routine. If you’re a club member, you can check that out in the Office Hours recording here: https://himareddy.xperiencify.io/first-40-trading-club/office-hours/oct-7-2026-office-hours-q-and-a/
Look forward to digging into this earnings season with you!
👉 How Are YOU Preparing for Earnings Season?
Earnings season is here, and every trader may have a slightly different way of preparing.
Are you doing anything differently to prepare for earnings season this time around?
Comment below, I’d love to know.
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