{"id":60876,"date":"2026-04-14T06:38:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/earnings-season-kickoff-blackrock-and-j-tesla-wins-key-eu-approval\/60876\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:38:27","slug":"earnings-season-kickoff-blackrock-and-j-tesla-wins-key-eu-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/earnings-season-kickoff-blackrock-and-j-tesla-wins-key-eu-approval\/60876\/","title":{"rendered":"Earnings Season Kickoff: BlackRock and J&#038;J Beat Estimates While Wells Fargo Lags; Tesla Wins Key EU Approval"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>BlackRock (<a href=\"\/stock\/BLK\">BLK<\/a>) and Johnson &amp; Johnson (<a href=\"\/stock\/JNJ\">JNJ<\/a>) delivered strong Q1 earnings beats<\/strong>, though BlackRock&#39;s net inflows of <strong>$129.72 billion<\/strong> fell short of analyst expectations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wells Fargo (<a href=\"\/stock\/WFC\">WFC<\/a>) reported mixed results<\/strong>, beating EPS estimates at <strong>$1.60<\/strong> but missing revenue targets with <strong>$21.45 billion<\/strong> as net interest margins faced pressure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tesla (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) secured a landmark regulatory win<\/strong> as the Dutch regulator RDW approved its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, paving the way for a broader European rollout.<\/li>\n<li><strong>US Small Business Optimism plummeted to 95.8 in February<\/strong>, significantly missing the <strong>97.9<\/strong> forecast and signaling growing concerns over the domestic economic outlook.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical tensions and trade shifts intensified<\/strong> as the EU moved to cut funding for projects using <strong>Chinese inverters<\/strong> and Italy suspended its defense agreement renewal with Israel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Financial Sector: Mixed Start to Q1 Earnings<\/h2>\n<p>The financial sector saw a divergent start to the first-quarter earnings season. BlackRock (<a href=\"\/stock\/BLK\">BLK<\/a>) reported an adjusted <strong>EPS of $12.53<\/strong>, comfortably beating the <strong>$11.48<\/strong> estimate, on revenues of <strong>$6.70 billion<\/strong>. Despite the profit beat, the firm\u2019s <strong>Assets Under Management (AUM) stood at $13.89 trillion<\/strong>, slightly below the <strong>$13.92 trillion<\/strong> anticipated by the market, as net inflows lagged projections.<\/p>\n<p>Wells Fargo (<a href=\"\/stock\/WFC\">WFC<\/a>) posted a more complicated quarter, with revenue of <strong>$21.45 billion<\/strong> coming in lower than the expected <strong>$21.80 billion<\/strong>. While the bank managed an <strong>EPS beat of $1.60<\/strong>, its <strong>Return on Equity (ROE) of 12.2%<\/strong> and a credit loss provision of <strong>$1.14 billion<\/strong> highlighted a more cautious environment for traditional lending.<\/p>\n<h2>Healthcare and Tech: Guidance Hikes and Regulatory Wins<\/h2>\n<p>Johnson &amp; Johnson (<a href=\"\/stock\/JNJ\">JNJ<\/a>) outperformed expectations across the board, reporting <strong>$24.06 billion in sales<\/strong> against a <strong>$23.66 billion<\/strong> estimate. The healthcare giant saw significant contributions from its blockbuster drugs, with <strong>Darzalex revenue reaching $3.96 billion<\/strong>. Following the strong performance, the company raised its <strong>full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $11.45 to $11.65<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In the technology and automotive space, Tesla (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) achieved a major milestone as the <strong>Dutch regulator RDW granted approval<\/strong> for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. This approval is expected to serve as a gateway for the technology to be adopted across the <strong>European Union<\/strong>, potentially boosting Tesla&#39;s market share in the region. Meanwhile, YouTube Premium, a subsidiary of Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>), announced new user features including <strong>auto-playback speed adjustment<\/strong> to enhance its subscription value.<\/p>\n<h2>Economic Sentiment and Global Trade Tensions<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>NFIB Small Business Optimism Index<\/strong> for February fell to <strong>95.8<\/strong>, a sharp decline from the previous <strong>98.8<\/strong> and well below the <strong>97.9<\/strong> consensus. This data suggests that small business owners are becoming increasingly wary of inflation and labor costs. On the industrial front, Toyota (<a href=\"\/stock\/TM\">TM<\/a>) issued a recall for <strong>9,139 vehicles in the US<\/strong> due to potential fuel pump failures, citing increased crash risks.<\/p>\n<p>Global trade and energy strategies are also shifting rapidly. The <strong>European Union<\/strong> has reportedly decided to stop funding projects that utilize <strong>Chinese inverters<\/strong>, a move aimed at reducing reliance on Beijing&#39;s technology. Simultaneously, <strong>Spain&#39;s Energy Minister<\/strong> confirmed the country will maintain its <strong>Russian gas phaseout strategy<\/strong> while releasing <strong>four days of oil reserves<\/strong> to stabilize local supply.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Developments<\/h2>\n<p>Diplomatic relations in the Middle East and Europe remain fluid. <strong>Italy<\/strong> has officially suspended the automatic renewal of its <strong>defense agreement with Israel<\/strong>, reflecting shifting political stances within the EU. In the Middle East, while <strong>Iran and Pakistan<\/strong> continue to exchange messages, diplomatic sources indicate there is currently <strong>no information regarding a new round of U.S.-Iran peace talks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways BlackRock (BLK) and Johnson &amp; Johnson (JNJ) delivered strong Q1 earnings beats, though BlackRock&#39;s net inflows of $129.72 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[6450,1653,8578,1807,10449,4824,11071,5030,5395,5480,5614,5795,6032],"class_list":["post-60876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-tsla-stock-tsla","tag-fsd","tag-small-business","tag-earnings","tag-wfc-stock-wfc","tag-geopolitics","tag-jnj-stock-jnj","tag-energy","tag-aum","tag-roe","tag-tm-stock-tm","tag-blk-stock-blk","tag-googl-stock-googl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}