Earnings season is winding down as we kick off the last month of 2025. Despite many headwinds — persistent inflation, slowing global growth, a record 43-day U.S. government shutdown, and geopolitical conflicts — third-quarter results were largely positive. With 95% of S & P 500 companies in, 83% have outpaced earnings expectations, while 76% have outpaced revenue expectations. Earnings beats were led by technology, health care, and financials, while the revenue beats were led by consumer staples, health care, and technology. The stock market, on the other hand, remains volatile. We discussed how to approach such a tough tape in a Friday commentary as the S & P 500 eked out a November advance for a seventh straight month of gains, while the Nasdaq lost 1.5% in November and broke a seven-month winning streak. For the week ahead, here’s what we’re focused most on: 1. Earnings: Within the portfolio, CrowdStrike reports third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday after the close, while Salesforce is set to report after the close on Wednesday. For CrowdStrike, the Street is looking for annual recurring revenue to accelerate, which should benefit from the Falcon Flex sales model. On the call, we’d like to learn more about how the age of agentic AI is driving demand for cybersecurity, as companies look to both secure their own workloads and defend against increasingly complex, automated attacks. As of Friday, the Street expects earnings of 94 cents per share on revenue of $1.215 billion, according to LSEG. At Salesforce, we want to learn more about the adoption of its AI product, Agentforce, which is key to reversing the bearish view of software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies stemming from the advancement of generative and agentic AI offerings. The company isn’t standing idly by, but is working to revamp its offerings to counter the pressure enterprise headcount reductions can put on its traditional seat-license model. As of Friday, the Street is looking for earnings of $2.86 per share on revenue of $10.27 billion, according to LSEG. 2. Black Friday: Of all the macro-level updates next week, sales reports over the past weekend may be the most influential. Not only because of how important this holiday shopping season is to the retailers, but also because the spending trends will provide important insights into the state of the consumer. According to a recent CNBC survey, 82% of Americans say they still plan to shop this holiday season, but much of the spending will take place outside the big deal days. Four in ten plan to spend less, with the biggest cutbacks in gifts. 3. Labor update: The November nonfarm payrolls report, usually released on the first Friday of the month, has been delayed by the government shutdown to Dec. 16. However, the November ADP employment survey comes out on Wednesday, which should carry a bit more weight than usual given the lack of data over the past couple of months. 4. Inflation reading: The September consumer spending and income report is out Friday, and although it’s a month late and reporting on a period two months ago, it is still important as it will provide insight into the trend of inflation, via the core PCE price index — the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation — found within the report. Other notable releases include the November ISM manufacturing report on Monday, the September industrial production and capacity utilization report on Wednesday, and the October factory orders report on Friday — all of which will provide insight into manufacturing trends. We’ll also get a look at the state of the services economy on Wednesday with the release of the November ISM Services report. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
