These Are The Most Crowded Longs and Short Ahead Of Earnings

Earnings kicked off this week with mixed results from banks, with JPM, BofA and Wells all sliding as they failed to overcome the administrative headlines weighing on the group, while more "clean" broker/dealers like Goldman and Morgan Stanley rose on solid results.

At a high level, the bar for Q4 earnings is low and should be cleared for 10th consecutive quarter – consensus is currently for growth of 7% year/year in 4Q 2025. On the year, Goldman forecasts S&P 500 EPS will grow by 12% to $305, driven by sales growth of 7% alongside margin expansion of 70 bps.