The Week Ahead: The Heart of Earnings Season

It's the heart of earnings season this week as we await a flood of results.

Internet juggernauts Alphabet and Facebook are due. Both have been riding high as more ad dollars have moved online, and they have been able to mostly fend off upstarts like Snap.

Amazon reports on Thursday. The retail and tech giant has had no shortage of headlines recently, ranging from its Prime Day deals to its purchase of Whole Foods.

We'll get a sense of the state of the consumer from a number of results this week, including Chipotle, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Starbucks.

After Johnson & Johnson's inline results last week, we'll hear from Biogen, Eli Lilly, Baxter, and some other pharmaceutical firms this week.

Boeing, Caterpillar, Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler will highlight industrial results. With T-Mobile leading pricing pressure on mobile services, AT&T and Verizon will show what impact that is having on their bottom line. Oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron are due on Friday.

There are some important economic events too. The Fed will meet and will release a rate decision on Wednesday. The market doesn't expect another hike, but the statement will be closely watched to get a sense of how the central bank is considering recent data showing a slowdown in inflation.

The first reading of second-quarter GDP is due, as expectations for growth have become more tempered in recent weeks.

Stay tuned for our take on all of these stories.