The coming week ends on 1 August, Donald Trump's purported tariff deadline day, but before then a torrent of results are due on both sides of the Atlantic, including the FTSE 100's three largest companies, and four of the 'Magnificent 7' tech titans.
In London, sectors in the spotlight will include pharma (AstraZeneca and GSK), banks (Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered), defence and aerospace (BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Melrose Industries), plus there's also Shell, Glencore, Unilever, Next and Entain.
Across the pond, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Industries are among the many earnings scheduled over the week, while the Federal Reserve policy decision will also grab plenty of headlines.
Monday 28 July
Announcements expected:
Trading updates: Cranswick
Interims: Primary Health Properties, RTC Group, Science Group, Valterra Platinum
Economic announcements: CBI Distributive Trades (UK)
Tuesday 29 July
AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) will report second-quarter and interim results, having recently lost its crown as the largest company in the FTSE 100 due to the threat of pharmaceutical tariffs and US drug pricing reform from President Donald Trump.
However, implementation of both remains uncertain, and AZ may have helped its cause this month as it unveiled plans to invest $50 billion in the US by the end of the decade.
Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) results follow solid numbers from domestically focused rivals Lloyds and Natwest the week before.
Also, with the largest investment banking arm, Barclays is the most obvious beneficiary of positive read-across from figures earlier in the month from Wall Street banks, which reported strong trading revenues on the back of market volatility driven by changing US tariff policy.
Ladbrokes owner Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) got a positive write-up from Citi ahead of the gaming group’s second-quarter results, as revenue and earnings tick steadily higher.
Announcements expected:
Trading updates: AG Barr, Entain, Paragon Banking, SSP Group
Interims: AstraZeneca, Barclays, Canal+, ConvaTec Group, Croda International, Essentra, Greggs, Inchcape, Morgan Sindall Group, Restore, Shaftesbury Capital, Staffline Group, Sthree, Unilever
Finals: Altitude Group, Games Workshop, IG Design Group, NWF Group
Overseas earnings: Boeing, PayPal, Procter & Gamble, Spotify Technology, UnitedHealth (all pre-market), Booking, MARA Holdings, Mondelez, Starbucks, Teladoc, Visa (all afterhours)
Economic announcements: BRC Shop Price Index (UK), Mortgage Approvals (UK), Consumer Credit (UK), M4 Money Supply (UK), House Price Index (US), Consumer Confidence (US)
Wednesday 30 July
Midweek brings the largest company in London and two of the largest in New York, plus the conclusion of the Federal Reserve meeting.
HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) has taken the crown this month as the largest company in the FTSE 100, though the bank is undergoing a process to find a new chair as Mark Tucker is stepping down in September.
The lender, which is undergoing a shake-up under CEO Georges Elhedery, has been reported as examining a sale of its Australian retail banking business and planning an expansion of its private credit business, which both could be mentioned.
As for the numbers, analysts at Shore Capital said HSBC might face some margin pressure following recent interest rate declines in Hong Kong.
BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) has been one of the most popular buys for retail investors in recent months, gaining prominence as the largest name in the UK defence sector as the UK joined other European governments in pledging to hike security spending.
The company got a boost as the UK outlined plans to buy nuclear-capable F-35s jets, and furthermore as the UK also agreed to sell Typhoon jets to Turkey.
Despite a 60% rise in the shares, analysts have said there could be further to run following the UK’s latest Strategic Defence and Security Review last month.
Elsewhere, GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) reports fresh from receiving a serious blow to its oncology ambitions from a US advisory committee, which wiped more than £3 billion from its market value and sent analysts rushing to trim forecasts.
With Blenrep seen as a key growth driver between 2025 and 2031, investors will be keen to hear how management's outlook has changed.
Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) shares have struggled since May last year, down 25%, or over 40% bleow the MSCI Europe index.
Weak results and a slump in coal prices are blamed, but some analysts expects a turnaround, with group production set to ramp up sharply in the second half of 2025, driven mainly by copper.
Later on, it's the Federal Reserve decision, though the US central bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold, having held off from cutting interest rates since December, despite pressure from President Trump.
Also, after the closing bell, Microsoft and Meta Platforms both report. For Microsoft, its Azure cloud business and Copilot artificial intelligence momentum could help boost earnings, analysts say.
For Meta, a strong period for advertising is expected, while the Instragram owner's aggressive push into artificial intelligence is also a focus.
Announcements expected:
Trading updates: GSK, Oakley Capital Investments, Sage Group, Strix Group
Interims: Alfa Financial Software, Aston Martin, BAE Systems, Bodycote, Conduit Holdings, Franchise Brands, Glencore, Greencoat UK Wind, Hostelworld Group, HSBC Holdings, Rathbones Group, RHI Magnesita, Man Group, Rio Tinto, SEPLAT Energy, Taylor Wimpey
Finals: Hargreaves Services, Ondo Insurtech, SDI Group
Overseas earnings: ADP, Etsy, Fiverr International, Kraft Heinz, Takeda Pharmaceutical (all pre-market), ARM Holdings, Ford Motor, Markel Group, Meta Platforms, Microsoft Corp, Qualcomm (all afterhours)
Economic announcements: Retail Sales (GER), Business Climate Indicator (EU), Consumer Confidence (EU), Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU), Industrial Confidence (EU), Services Sentiment (EU), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Pending Homes Sales (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)
Thursday 31 July
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) remains an investor favourite, and no surprise after soaring over 800% since the start of 2023.
The turnaround under Tufan Erganbilgic is continuing, and analysts see potential catalysts for the company ranging from civil aerospace recovery to further gains in defence and power systems.
Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL), now relegated to the third largest company in the FTSE, has guided to lower oil production in the second quarter due to scheduled maintenance and the sale of its onshore oil and gas joint venture in Nigeria.
Ahead of Next PLC (LSE:NXT) numbers, apparel industry data was revealed to have declined in recent weeks, reversing an increase in the prior period.
What's more, at its Q1 results in May, the retailer revealed that warmer weather led to a 11.4% rise in full-price clothing sales, as many people bought summer clothing earlier than they might have normally done.
But Next cautioned that this would be likely to act as a drag on sales in the second quarter, so full-year guidance was held steady.
Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) had a shaky first half, analysts at Barclays said recently, but they predicted that the consumer goods heavyweight could be about to turn a corner.
The analysts argued that if the Marmite maker can deliver organic sales growth of more than 3.5% in the first half and restate its ambition for an Asia-led acceleration later this year, it could start to claw back lost ground.
Later on, the big earnigns to watch will be after the closing bell in New York, when Apple and Amazon.com report.
Announcements expected:
Trading updates: Endeavour Mining, Next, Pets at Home, Shell
Interims: Aberdeen Group, Anglo American, British American Tobacco, Coats Group, Drax Group, Elementis, Endeavour Mining, Haleon, Hammerson, Helios Towers, JTC, London Stock Exchange Group, Melrose Industries, Mondi, Rentokil Initial, Robert Walters, Rolls Royce, Schroder Oriental Income Fund, Schroders, Segro, Standard Chartered, St James's Place, Unilever, Weir Group
Ex-dividends: Lloyds Banking Group
Overseas earnings: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mastercard, Willis Towers Watson (all premarket), Amazon.com, Apple, Cloudflare, Illumina, Riot Platforms, Strategy (all afterhours)
Economic announcements: Nationwide House Price Index (UK), Unemployment Rate (GER), Unemployment Rate (EU), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Personal Consumption Expenditures (US), Personal Income (US), Personal Spending (US), Chicago PMI (US)
Friday 1 August
The focus on British Airways owner IAG;s (LSE:IAG) half-year results will be on shareholder returns and rising costs.
Revenue and profits in the first quarter came in ahead of expectations, driven by higher ticket prices, increased capacity and lower fuel costs.
However, analysts have flagged recent cost pressures. Jet fuel prices have risen since the start of Q2, and easyJet recently warned that industrial action in France and fuel price inflation could reduce profits by £25 million this year.
Announcements expected:
Interims: IMI, International Consolidated Airlines Group, Intertek, Pearson
Overseas earnings: Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Moderna (all premarket), AMC Entertainment
Economic announcements: PMI Manufacturing (EU, UK, US), Non-Farm Payrolls (US), Construction Spending (US), ISM Manufacturing (US), Uni of Michigan Confidence (US)