The Week Ahead
July 20, 2026
Economic news
API Crude Oil Stock Change July 21st
Ongoing conflicts overseas continue to have an impact on oil prices and supply. For the week ending July 10th, U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 564,000 barrels1. This was less than expectations, and shows a shift from the declines of May and June. Still, the Strategic Petroleum Reserves hit their lowest level in over 40 years when they declined by 2.99 million barrels to 316.5 million. Given that the conflict in the Middle East is seemingly still ongoing, markets will be looking to see what happens with crude inventories next week.
U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rate July 23rd
Average 30-year fixed mortgages increased to 6.55% from 6.49% last week. Reporting on Thursday the 23rd, buyers will be waiting to see if mortgages react to what Freddie Mac Economist Sam Khater called “weakened” demand for purchase applications2. Khater also noted that housing inventory has risen, which could be in correlation with rates that are currently back at levels last seen in August of 2025. Pending home sales declined 5.4% in June compared to May3. Mortgage rates for July will undoubtedly tell the tale of whether housing weakness continues after such a long run.
Earnings Related Market Movers
Domino’s Pizza July 20th
Domino’s is down 32.5% year to date. While the company saw a revenue increase of $1.15 billion in the first quarter, net income declined 6.5% year over year to $139.8 million4. One potential contributor was a “remeasurement” of Domino’s investment in DPC Dash, the franchisee for Domino’s in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Subsequently, diluted earnings per share declined 4.6% to $4.13. The pizza giant dominates the market, having 23.3% of the U.S. market in 20255, but it seems to currently be in a slow period. U.S. same store sales grew a mere 0.9% in the first quarter, while international sales, the largest piece of the company’s business, saw same store sales decline by 0.4%.
Looking to second quarter results, investors will probably be looking for signs that Domino’s still has growth potential. It is admittedly a trickier time for businesses like Domino’s, as consumers’ spending habits are pressed by higher costs for things like fuel and general groceries.
General Motors July 21st
After reporting adjusted earnings of $3.70 per share in the first quarter of 2026 versus an expected $2.626, General Motors shares have remained relatively stagnant thus far this year, dropping 5.3%. This comes off a strong 2025, where shares gained over 50%. General Motors has joined the rare players in the car business that have received “higher” earnings valuations, garnering a P/E ratio of nearly 31 times trailing earnings. This is a rare occurrence for an auto stock, as they mostly trade at around 10 times earnings, or even lower.
Second quarter focus will probably be on any type of progress on topline revenue growth. Revenues actually declined by 0.89% year over year in the first quarter to $43.62 billion. This would arguably explain the weaker progress for the stock this year, despite the surprise in adjusted earnings. Looking to the full year, expectations are for net income to come in at $9.9 to $11.4 billion7, which would mark a decrease from the previously provided range of $10.3 to $11.7 billion. With high prices putting a damper on spending habits, General Motors shares might not necessarily anticipate the same performance that came out of 2025.
Tesla July 22nd
A very different company from General Motors, Tesla shares have been struggling this year; down 9.6%. While growth trends have generally been positive, the stock is priced very high relative to its actual financials. On a trailing GAAP basis, Tesla carries a P/E ratio of 369 times full 2025 earnings. GAAP earnings increased by 8% year over year in the first quarter to $0.13 per share8. Non-GAAP earnings increased 52% to $0.41 per share. Looking ahead, analyst estimates anticipate full year fiscal 2026 earnings of $1.989; meaning the stock is trading at 200 times forward earnings expectations.
Of course, current pricing isn’t the whole story with Tesla. Plans for the Cybercab, Tesla Semi Truck, and Megapack 3 are all underway, offering new opportunities for growth for the company. The question is a matter of execution; the goals are lofty at Tesla, but timelines appear uncertain. The company stated in its first quarter results that all three of these products were on schedule to begin volume production in 2026, so investors will likely be looking to see if that holds true.
1 https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/api-crude-oil-stock-change
2 https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/30-year-mortgage-rate
3 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/16/housing-market-mortgages-homebuilding.html
4 https://ir.dominos.com/static-files/f0f3f7b8-bdca-45f6-97b8-43c42482befe
5 https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/07/08/stock-is-down-32-and-still-the-dominant-player/
6 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/28/general-motors-gm-earnings-q1-2026.html
7 https://investor.gm.com/static-files/ad646529-cae6-43b3-9502-848ba44f8ea9
8 https://assets-ir.tesla.com/tesla-contents/IR/TSLA-Q1-2026-Update.pdf
9 https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/tsla/analystestimates?mod=mw_quote_tab
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