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On October 9, PepsiCo (PEP) reports before market open. The consumer giant has struggled in 2025, with shares down 7% year-to-date, lagging the S&P 500 by 23%. Analysts forecast Q3 EPS of $2.26, a 2.18% decline year-over-year, reflecting ongoing headwinds. Despite this, PepsiCo has consistently outperformed expectations, beating estimates in all but one quarter over the past two years. Looking forward, analysts expect earnings to return to mid-single-digit growth in 2026, underpinned by its strong execution track record.
Later that day, Applied Digital (APLD) reports after market close. Riding the AI infrastructure boom, its stock has surged 234% this year, though its valuation looks stretched with an EV/Sales ratio of 44x versus the sector’s 4x. Investor excitement is driven by its expanded $CoreWeave lease, boosting contracted capacity to 400MW and potentially $11 billion in revenue. The market anticipates further large-scale deals, with management confirming talks with a U.S. hyperscaler, keeping sentiment highly bullish.
On the macro side, the spotlight falls on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech, widely seen as the key event shaping policy expectations. Markets will parse his tone for clues on the timing and scale of future rate moves. His comments will be informed by the delayed September Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, which provides a comprehensive view of labor market health. Ahead of that, Initial Jobless Claims, expected to tick up to 223K from 218K, will offer a more immediate read on employment, reinforcing the narrative of gradual cooling the Fed has been monitoring.
