Markets on Edge as Earnings Week Begins

Earnings Season in Focus

Berkshire Hathaway kicks off the week with Q2 2026 results today. It is the first major name to report. The week builds quickly. Cisco Systems reports Wednesday after the bell. Applied Materials closes the week Thursday. Both carry market caps above $400 billion. Options traders are already cautious. Put-heavy flow dominated in Super Micro Computer ahead of its Q4 print. Lucid Group drew just 1.9% bullish options flow — one of the most bearish readings in the US market.

Bears Dig In, Squeeze Risk Grows

Short sellers added pressure across several names this week. HTZ sits at 82.6% SI % FF with zero shares available to borrow. A short squeeze is already underway. CHWY is similarly cornered at 79.3% SI % FF and zero availability. RingCentral saw a fresh jump of 2.9 percentage points in a week to 15.1% SI % FF. Bears are reassessing the cloud-comms name after a difficult earnings run.

Executives Split on Outlook

Boston Scientific CEO Michael Mahoney filed a $9M purchase on August 5 — a rare buy signal from a sitting chief executive. Against that, sellers dominated elsewhere. PBF Energy insiders filed $36.6M in combined sales. Life Time Group insiders collectively sold $24.5M. Charles Schwab's founder filed over $30M in SCHW sales across late July and early August.

Europe and Macro Watch

European equities remain sensitive to macro crosscurrents. The FT flagged that a US dollar/euro intervention blindsided the ECB. Oil markets face a refining crunch as Russian and Gulf capacity stays offline. Danish wind firm Vestas Wind Systems reports Wednesday — a key read on European clean energy demand. El Niño risks are also rising, with commodity traders on alert for food price volatility.