Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Checking out
Major retailers are among the biggest names scheduled to release quarterly results this week, including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target and Walmart. The sector continues to be under the microscope as concerns swirl about the strength of the U.S. consumer. For those looking to read the tea leaves: More than nine out of every 10 S&P 500-listed company has already reported this quarter, according to FactSet, and nearly 82% have beaten Wall Street’s expectations. Meanwhile, stocks are coming off a second straight week of gains. Follow live markets updates here.
2. Path to peace
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin may have ended without a ceasefire, but White House officials maintained over the weekend that the U.S. made progress at the Alaska summit. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, said Putin agreed to allow the U.S. and European countries to give Ukraine “Article 5-like protection.” But Secretary of State Marco Rubio said separately that a peace agreement was “still a long ways off.” All eyes will be on the White House Monday, where Trump is slated to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders.
3. Bill Gates meets Willy Wonka
Judy Faulkner, founder and chief executive officer of Epic Systems Corp., during the Forbes Healthcare Summit in New York, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Business commandments and “work church” are the norm under Judy Faulkner, CEO of Epic Systems. Faulkner has led the health technology firm, which is known for its dominance in electronic health record software, for nearly half of a century. The 82-year-old executive gave a rare interview to CNBC’s Ashley Capoot, discussing topics ranging from the benefits of remaining privately owned to what she learned from her mother. As Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial Health, described her, Faulkner is a “cross between Bill Gates and Willy Wonka.”
4. Earnest money
Wera Rodsawang | Moment | Getty Images
Alternative investment platform Yieldstreet sold users on the idea that they could “invest like the 1%.” Instead, those betting on real estate through its platform ended up with sizable losses, CNBC’s Hugh Son found. Out of 30 deals analyzed by CNBC, four have been deemed total losses by Yieldstreet and 23 others are on a “watchlist.” One investor told Son he feels like he got “duped” by the 10-year-old company, saying he lost $400,000. It could be a cautionary tale about the riskier nature of private market investments, which got a boost this month when Trump signed an executive order allowing alternative investments into 401(k)s.
5. Samsung’s trend tailwind
A person holds a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 phone during an event in New York, U.S., July 8, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Samsung is challenging Apple’s status as U.S. smartphone royalty. CNBC’s Kif Leswing reports that the company has recently been able to win over American shoppers, with one firm finding Samsung’s market share in the second quarter rose to 31% from 23% in the same timeframe a year ago. The South Korean company has also received positive buzz online after it introduced two folding phones last month.
— CNBC’s Erin Doherty, Ashley Capoot, Hugh Son and Kif Leswing contributed to this report.
