Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks are higher to kick off the busiest week of the quarter. With roughly 20% of the S & P 500 reporting over the next few days, we’ll need to stay nimble as results and forward guidance roll in from both companies within and outside the portfolio. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s two-day monetary policy meeting concludes on Wednesday. The market should get the latest on how the central bank plans to balance risks to the labor market with price stability. And in the background of everything, we’ll be paying close attention to comments from Washington related to a potential partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Wells Fargo announced a key hire on Monday, luring Faraz Shafiq from Amazon Web Services to drive its artificial intelligence strategy. The move should help Wells Fargo unlock additional efficiencies and potentially bring down costs by leveraging AI more effectively. Starbucks shares have rallied about 14% this year heading into its earnings on Wednesday. The rebound, which follows a lackluster 2025 performance, shows that U.S. same-store sales are returning to positive territory for the first time in many quarters. However, the more important event this week is Thursday’s investor day, when the coffee giant is expected to provide multi-year targets. CEO Brian Niccol will likely speak confidently about the progress Starbucks has made in its turnaround. But it wouldn’t surprise us to see management lay out some targets that fit into the “under promise, over deliver” category. To hedge against any near-term disappointment, the Club is downgrading Starbucks stock to a 2 rating , meaning we’d wait for a pullback before buying more. We want more clarity on the company’s financial framework before making any big moves. Up Next: Nucor reports after the closing bell on Monday. Some of the key earnings reports before Tuesday’s opening include Club Holding Boeing , UnitedHealth Group , UPS , General Motors , RTX , Kimberly-Clark, and Union Pacific . (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.
