Big name earnings and the Super Bowl — five things to watch for in the week ahead

by 

 

Benjamin Snyder

Hello friends and Fortune readers.

Some of the biggest companies will report earnings in the week ahead, including Apple  AAPL 0.52% , Microsoft  MSFT 0.11% , Yahoo  YHOO 0.12% , Facebook  FB 0.23% , Google  GOOG 1.04% . It’ll will set the tone for the rest of the year on Wall Street, which has got off to a volatile start with big market swings and the continue drop in oil prices.

It’s also Super Bowl week, a marketing bonanza (or sinkhole), depending on whether companies succeed with their advertising. In any case, the football is just an afterthought to the sale of high-priced tickets, sports merchandise, and television airtime.

Here’s what you need to know for your week ahead.

1. Tech earnings galore

Expect a slew of tech earnings this week with Microsoft kicking things off Monday afternoon. Apple, Yahoo and Electronic Arts  EA 0.87%  all report Tuesday. Facebook is next up on Wednesday along with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba  BABA -0.86% , Amazon  AMZN 0.67% and Google. Investors will be looking at each one for different reasons. For example, Apple followers will be listening for any details about the upcoming smartwatch. Amazon’s will be looking for any signs of a slow down in big spending. Yahoo’s want to know what it will do with its windfall from Asian investments.

2. Big week for big pharma

This is an important week for healthcare earnings. The biggest pharmaceutical companies – Bristol-Meyers Squibb BMY -0.03% , Pfizer  PFE -1.10%  and Procter & Gamble  PG -1.68%  – are lined up for Thursday morning. Look for some discussion from Bristol-Meyers about its new CEO, Giovanni Caforio. He was appointed last week.

3. Other earnings to keep an eye out for

Companies of all kinds will also report quarterly results this week in a sort of feeding frenzy for investors. Tuesday morning, check out American Airlines. Wednesday morning, there’s Boeing  BA -0.75% . Thursday is the busiest day of the week, including Colgate-Palmolive  CVX -1.90% , JetBlue  JBLU 0.42% , Hershey  HSY -1.95%  and Time Warner Cable  TWC -1.32% in the morning followed by Visa  V 0.27%  in the afternoon. Friday, meanwhile, sees Chevron  CVX -1.90% , Honda, Mattel  MAT -1.30%  and Mastercard  MA 0.01%  reporting.

4. Economic data released, too

Economists will get window into public sentiment about the economy when the Conference Board releases its latest installment of the Consumer Confidence Index. It’s was last at an 11-year high thanks to a stronger job market with and sharply lower gasoline prices. The financial world will also be monitoring the FOMC Monetary Policy committee meeting, one of eight held annually. The committee, which includes the Fed’s Janet Yellen, will discuss U.S. economic and financial conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. That will be followed Thursday morning by the release of the quarterly U.S. GDP figures. In the third quarter, GDP rose 4.97% which marked the first time growth “exceeded 4% in two straight quarters since 2003.”

5. Gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday is more than the NFL championship game. It’s the Super Bowl of television commercials, casino sports betting and corporate sponsorships. Yes, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will be facing off in Phoenix. But a long list of companies also have millions of dollars on the line. Big advertisers like Coca-Cola  KO -1.07% , Pepsi  PEP -0.37%  and BMW have spent millions on commercials and airtime. Casinos companies like Wynn Resorts  WYNN -0.83%  and MGM Resorts  MGM 0.55% and are trying to rake in as many bets as possible. Meanwhile, NBC, part of NBCUniversal is gunning for a huge television audience amid controversy over various NFL player scandals.