Top 3 Financial Stocks to Watch Before Q1 Earnings: Finance Sector Eyes 19% Growth
- Will Bell
- Apr 4
- 5 min read
Updated: May 1
The Finance sector is forecast to deliver +19% earnings growth in Q1 2026. That is the second highest growth rate of any sector in the entire S&P 500.
And yet most investors are still talking about tech.
That gap right there... that is the opportunity.
While the headlines obsess over Nvidia and the Magnificent Seven, the Finance sector is quietly putting together one of its strongest earnings quarters in years.
+19% earnings growth is not a rounding error. That is a sector firing on all cylinders at exactly the right moment.
What is driving it?
Three things happening simultaneously. An M&A boom unleashing years of pent-up deal flow.
Trading desks printing money on geopolitical volatility. And consumer spending proving more resilient than anyone expected heading into April.
Here are the three top financial stocks to watch before q1 earnings hit.
1. Visa (V) ... The $4 Trillion Payments Machine
Visa already told the story this quarter. The company reported fiscal Q1 2026 results that beat on every single metric.
Revenue came in at $10.9 billion... a 15% year-over-year increase and comfortably above the $10.68 billion consensus estimate.
👉 EPS hit $3.17 versus the $3.14 estimate. Payments volume was up 8.6%.
The standout number was cross-border volume growth of 12%... driven by a strong holiday travel season and surging international e-commerce.
Cross-border transactions carry the highest margins in Visa's business. When that line accelerates... earnings power compounds quickly.
💵 Bank of America called the Q1 result a beat and raise scenario and the full-year 2026 consensus stands at $12.81 EPS... an 11.7% jump year over year.
This is a company that does not miss.
The April angle is simple. Visa processes nearly every dollar of consumer spending in the United States and across 200 countries. If consumers keep spending... Visa keeps winning. And Q1 showed consumers are spending just fine.
📊 Visa Q1 FY2026: $10.9B revenue (+15% YoY). EPS $3.17 (beat $3.14 estimate). Cross-border volume +12%. Full-year 2026 EPS consensus $12.81.
The trade: Visa reports fiscal Q2 2026 in late April. Another cross-border beat plus strong VAS revenue would be the catalyst for a meaningful re-rating higher.
2. Mastercard (MA) ... 27% Upside and a Pipeline Built for This Market
If Visa is the steady compounder, Mastercard is the aggressive grower.
The analyst consensus on Mastercard sits at Buy with an average 12-month price target of $672.44... representing 27.5% upside from current levels.
That is not a small number for one of the largest financial companies in the world.
Mastercard's cross-border payments platform, Mastercard Move, now facilitates transfers across more than 200 countries.
👉 Its subsidiary Recorded Future... a leading threat intelligence company... recently expanded its collaboration with Exabeam to bring real-time smart threat detection to enterprise clients.
💵 Full-year 2026 EPS consensus is $17.42 per share... representing double-digit growth year over year.
The company beat EPS estimates last quarter by $0.07.
Analyst revisions have been trending positive with 15 upward estimate revisions in the last 90 days and zero downward revisions.
👉 The macro setup works in Mastercard's favor too. Rising tariffs... while generally a headwind for the economy... push up nominal transaction values, which flows directly into Mastercard's revenue.
More dollars spent per transaction means more fees collected per swipe. Tariff inflation is quietly a Mastercard tailwind.
📈 Mastercard: $672.44 average analyst price target = 27.5% upside. 15 upward EPS revisions in last 90 days. Zero downward revisions. Fiscal Q1 2026 EPS estimate $4.22.
The trade: Mastercard reports Q1 2026 results in late April. Cross-border volume growth and Value Added Services revenue are the two numbers to watch.
Both trended strong in Q4. The setup is clean.
3. Charles Schwab (SCHW) ... The Brokerage Built for a Bull Market
💵 Most people do not think of Charles Schwab as an earnings season play. That is exactly why it is worth looking at right now.
Schwab projected 2026 revenue growth of 9.5% to 10.5% with adjusted earnings between $5.70 and $5.80 per share and organic asset growth of around 5%.
👉 CEO Rick Wurster described Schwab's competitive position entering 2026 as the strongest it has ever been.
Morningstar rates Schwab a wide moat company... meaning analysts believe it can fend off competition for 20+ years.
Their 10-year forecasts project 14.4% compound annual EPS growth and 11.3% operating income growth. Morningstar raised their fair value estimate to $111 per share.
📈 Here is the setup most traders are missing. Schwab is expanding into spot cryptocurrency trading and alternative asset access through its pending acquisition of Forge Global.
These are not defensive moves. They are offensive bets on where retail investing is going next.
And with a bull market drawing millions of new retail investors into the market... Schwab is the platform they land on.
Schwab reported Q1 2025 record revenue and beat Q4 2025 estimates as well. The company has a clear pattern of execution.
With $5.70 to $5.80 EPS guided for the full year... April earnings will confirm whether that trajectory is on track.
📅 Charles Schwab Q1 2026 earnings: Expected mid-April 2026. 2026 revenue growth guided 9.5% to 10.5%. Morningstar fair value $111/share. Wide moat rating.
The trade: Schwab is the retail brokerage play on a broadening bull market.
More investors entering the market means more assets on Schwab's platform means more fee revenue. The earnings trajectory says the story is intact.
Quick Reference: The 3 Financial Stocks to Watch
• Visa (V) ... Q1 FY2026 already delivered $10.9B revenue, +15% YoY. Fiscal Q2 2026 reports late April. Cross-border volume the key metric. $12.81 full-year EPS consensus.
• Mastercard (MA) ... $672.44 analyst price target = 27.5% upside. 15 upward EPS revisions in 90 days. Q1 2026 reports late April. Tariff inflation is a fee revenue tailwind.
• Charles Schwab (SCHW) ... 9.5 to 10.5% revenue growth guided. $5.70 to $5.80 EPS. Wide moat. Morningstar fair value $111. Crypto and alt asset expansion in progress.
The Finance Sector Is Not Waiting for Permission
Most of the market is watching tech for the big Q1 earnings story. The traders who are quietly loading up on financials may have the better setup.
The banks already fired the gun with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan setting the tone in mid-April. But the financial sector's earnings story does not end there.
Visa and Mastercard process every dollar of consumer spending across the global economy.
Charles Schwab sits at the center of a retail investing boom that is still in early innings. These are not speculative bets. These are the rails the financial system runs on.
And with the Finance sector projecting +19% earnings growth in Q1 2026... the second strongest of any S&P 500 sector... the numbers are telling you something the headlines are not.
The window to get positioned before April earnings is short.
Every week you wait is a week closer to the report dates... and further from the best entry points.
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