Seven straight winning weeks. The S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,399, another all-time high. The Nasdaq crossed 26,247. Last week’s jobs report nearly doubled expectations — 115,000 new payrolls against a forecast of 55,000. The market has had a remarkable run.
There’s one speed bump this week. Monday morning brings April’s inflation data. CPI can either confirm a rally or rattle it, and with oil still sitting around $95 a barrel and Iran tensions unresolved in the background, the market is carrying a bit more risk than the headlines suggest. Here are three names worth watching as that picture comes into focus.
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Cisco reports third-quarter fiscal 2026 results after Wednesday’s close, and the setup is cleaner than most going into earnings. Back in February, management guided revenue to $15.4–$15.6 billion — the Street was sitting at $15.2 billion. EPS guidance of $1.02–$1.04 cleared consensus of $0.95. Analysts had to revise their models higher after that.
The bigger story is what’s happening with AI. Cisco logged $2.1 billion in AI infrastructure orders last quarter alone and raised its full-year AI order outlook to over $5 billion. The Splunk acquisition, which closed last year, is starting to show up in the numbers. The stock closed Friday at $96.57, up nearly 5% on the day — institutional positioning ahead of a report where management has already told you to expect good numbers. Wednesday’s result is the confirmation.
Walmart (WMT)
Walmart reports Thursday morning before the open, and this is the week’s most important read on the American consumer. CPI drops Monday. After that, Walmart’s commentary on pricing, tariff pass-through, and traffic trends will set the tone for the entire retail sector.
The stock closed Friday at $130.43, barely moved on the day. That steadiness tells you something — this isn’t momentum money chasing it. The stock has run from around $83 a year ago to a high near $135 in February, pulled back to $112, and has worked its way back to $130. It’s not cheap, but Walmart rarely is. What you’re paying for is the most resilient consumer franchise in the country and a management team that has consistently navigated tough environments better than its peers. If Thursday’s numbers show pricing holding and traffic stable despite tariff headwinds, this stock goes higher.
Vistra Corp (VST)
Vistra just reported one of the most surprising quarters of earnings season. The company posted Q1 EPS of $2.89 against Wall Street’s estimate of $1.94 — a 49% beat. Then the stock dropped 4% on Friday to close at $147.72.
That kind of reaction to a monster earnings beat usually means one of two things: the guidance disappointed, or the stock had simply run too far ahead of results and the news became the “sell the news” moment. Either way, the underlying business is generating a lot of cash. Vistra is the largest competitive power generator in the country, running both nuclear plants and natural gas, and it’s one of the few companies that can actually deliver the 24/7 baseload power that AI data centers need. That demand is not going away. The stock is down about 33% from its highs of last summer. For investors who want exposure to the AI energy buildout without paying peak valuations, this pullback is worth examining.
