Bank Earnings Start This Week. Here Are Two Stocks to Know.

The most consequential stretch of the financial calendar kicks off Monday, July 14, 2026. That is when Wall Street's biggest banks begin reporting second-quarter results, and two names in particular are worth having on your radar heading into this week: Wells Fargo (WFC) and Bank of America (BAC).

Both report results the week of July 14. Both are directly tied to the macroeconomic setup that has dominated the market conversation since the June jobs report landed on Thursday, July 3. The U.S. economy added just 57,000 jobs in June — well below the 113,000 economists had expected. The unemployment rate held at 4.2%. That kind of softness changes the calculus for the Federal Reserve and creates a tailwind for bank stocks that investors should understand before the numbers hit.

The Rate Cut Setup

Here is the dynamic at play. When the Fed holds rates high, banks benefit from wider net interest margins — the spread between what they earn on loans and what they pay on deposits. But when the economy weakens and the Fed signals rate cuts, something different happens: loan demand picks up, bond portfolios recover in value, and capital markets activity — IPOs, mergers, bond issuances — begins to move again.

The June jobs report pushed the probability of a Fed rate cut before year-end meaningfully higher. For banks, that shift matters because it signals a transition from a high-rate environment into a rate-easing cycle, which historically has been a strong period for financial sector performance. Investors are rotating into financials in anticipation of exactly that shift.

Wells Fargo: The Turnaround Still in Progress

Wells Fargo trades at $87.18 per share with a market cap of $266.79 billion. The 52-week range runs from $72.78 to $97.76, and the stock is currently sitting 10.8% below its 52-week high — the largest pullback of the two banks covered here. Trailing EPS is $6.45 and the P/E ratio is 13.52, making it one of the cheaper large-cap bank stocks by that measure.

The most recent quarterly results show a business generating consistent, if not explosive, profitability. In Q1 2026, Wells Fargo posted net interest income of $12.10 billion, down slightly from $12.33 billion in Q4 2025. Net income came in at $5.29 billion, off 2.5% sequentially from $5.42 billion in Q4 2025. Diluted EPS was $1.60 and net margin was 26.0%.

Wells Fargo is still operating under a Fed-imposed asset cap that has limited its ability to grow its balance sheet since 2018. Wall Street has long expected the cap to be lifted — when it is, the stock could re-rate meaningfully higher. CEO Charlie Scharf has also been executing a multiyear efficiency transformation that has reduced the bank's expense base substantially.

Of 15 analysts covering Wells Fargo, 66.7% carry bullish ratings. The average price target is $97.97, representing 12.4% upside from the current price. The high target is $108.00. Bank of America Securities raised its price target to $102.00 on July 7, 2026, maintaining a Buy rating. UBS maintained its Buy on July 7 with a $104.00 target.

Bank of America: Near Highs and Accelerating

Bank of America tells a different story. The stock trades at $59.73 with a market cap of $423.84 billion, and at the current price it is just 1.8% below its 52-week high of $60.83. The 52-week low was $44.75. Trailing EPS is $4.04 and the P/E ratio is 14.78.

The Q1 2026 fundamentals were notably strong. Net interest income came in at $15.74 billion for the quarter. Net income reached $8.58 billion, up 14.0% sequentially from $7.53 billion in Q4 2025. Diluted EPS was $1.11 and net margin was 29.7%.

That 14.0% sequential jump in net income is the number that stands out. Bank of America has the largest retail deposit base among U.S. banks, which gives it significant sensitivity to interest rate movements. As rates begin to fall, the bank's cost of deposits decreases faster than its loan yields reprice, which can expand margins in a way that benefits profitability.

Analyst conviction on BAC is strong. Of 15 analysts covering the stock, 93.3% are bullish. The average price target is $63.17, representing 5.8% upside from the current price. The high target is $68.00. UBS raised its target to $68.00 on July 7, 2026, maintaining a Buy rating. Evercore ISI maintained an Outperform rating with a $63.00 target on July 6. JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight with a $62.50 target on July 6.

Q2 results for both banks arrive the week of July 14. The combination of a rate-cut setup, improving loan demand, and a sector rotation out of technology into financials makes this one of the more closely watched earnings weeks of 2026.