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Profit Pulse Weekly Market Brief
January 24-31, 2026
Henry Dalsania
February 02, 2026
The Big Picture
January wrapped up with markets doing what they love most: confusing everyone.
Indexes drifted, headlines screamed, and meanwhile money quietly rotated under the surface. Tech took a breather, defensive names caught a bid, and earnings season started separating real businesses from good storytellers.
This wasn’t panic. It was positioning.
📰 What Actually Mattered This Week
1. Indexes Drift as Tech Wobbles (MSFT, AAPL, GOOGL)
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq chopped sideways to lower as Microsoft and other mega-cap tech names cooled off ahead of earnings. Volatility stayed contained — a sign investors are cautious, not scared.
Why it matters: When the generals rest but the army doesn’t collapse, it usually means rotation — not a market top.
2. Chips Get Shaken, Telecom Gets Love (MU, T, VZ)
Micron saw sharp swings as the AI trade cooled temporarily, while old-school telecoms like AT&T and Verizon quietly outperformed.
Why it matters: High-flying growth pauses fast. Cash-flow-heavy, boring businesses never go out of style — they just wait their turn.
3. Earnings Reactions Are All About Guidance (SBUX, GLW)
Starbucks surprised with better U.S. sales trends, while Corning lifted guidance thanks to optical demand. Stocks moved less on last quarter’s numbers and more on what management said about the future.
Why it matters: Earnings season isn’t about the past. Markets pay for confidence in what’s next.
4. Healthcare Tech Cools Off (ISRG)
Even high-quality healthcare tech names like Intuitive Surgical pulled back as investors rotated toward value and income plays.
Why it matters: Great businesses still fluctuate. Long-term investors get paid for patience, not perfection.
5. Gold & Silver Melt Down While Crypto Slips (GLD, SLV, BTC proxies)
Bitcoin slid alongside other risk assets, while gold and silver saw sharp selloffs as real rates firmed and crowded hedge trades unwound — all without triggering broader market stress.
Why it matters: Gold and silver are supposed to hedge uncertainty and falling real rates. When they sell off alongsidecrypto — without stocks breaking — it usually signals tightening financial conditions and rotation, not systemic collapse.
📅 Big Earnings Ahead — This Week Sets the Tone
This week is the first real earnings stress test of 2026. Several market-moving giants report, and their guidance could determine whether tech leadership resumes — or stays on pause.
Key reports to watch:
Alphabet (GOOGL) — Ads, Cloud growth, and AI spending discipline
Amazon (AMZN) — AWS momentum vs retail margins
AMD (AMD) — AI demand proof, not promises
Disney (DIS) — Streaming economics and parks demand
Palantir (PLTR) — Enterprise AI traction
Eli Lilly (LLY) — Healthcare growth visibility
💡 My Take
Expectations are already high.
The risk this week isn’t bad earnings — it’s good earnings that don’t justify premium valuations. I’m especially watching PLTR, GOOGL, AMZN, and LLY, since they’re part of my own portfolio. The question isn’t price action — it’s whether the original investment thesis still holds, or if something fundamental in the underlying business has actually changed. Watch margins, capital spending, and forward guidance. That’s where the truth lives.
If big tech proves AI and cloud growth can scale profitably, leadership resumes. If not, rotation continues — and that’s exactly how the Profit Pulse system is designed to work. We don’t marry narratives or price charts; we constantly re‑check the thesis against cash flow, margins, balance sheets, and management execution. When fundamentals confirm the story, we hold with conviction. When they don’t, we adjust without emotion.
🧠 Profit Pulse Bottom Line
Markets aren’t breaking. They’re sorting.
Cash flow matters again. Discipline matters again. And boring is quietly becoming beautiful.
👉 Don’t Miss The Breakdown…
If you want help cutting through the noise and building conviction around real businesses — stick around. Profit Pulse is built for investors who want clarity, not chaos. Stay tuned and be on the lookout for NFLX — they reported earnings several weeks ago, and I’ll break it down and test it against the Profit Pulse 7-step investing thesis, sharing my take with you.
More next Sunday.
— Henry
Profit Pulse