In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos preview earnings from Taiwan’s flagship chip maker, TSMC. They also break down why this coming week’s earnings from Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group and Abbott Laboratories won’t do much to save healthcare from its negative earnings growth expectations. Then, Miriam and Telis are joined by Christine Short, head of research at Wall Street Horizon, which is part of the financial-services company TMX Group, to decode why analysts’ corporate earnings expectations are reaching exuberant highs. They ask: How are companies achieving such strong results without massive revenue growth, and are those gains sustainable? Plus, Short explains how the AI buildout is reshaping corporate efficiency. They also discuss how companies like BJ’s Wholesale, FedEx and Nike are managing tariff refunds and what that has meant for consumers. They talk about what to expect from this week’s bank earnings, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and others slated to report. Then the hosts examine the broader market’s health and what the Late Earnings Report Index, or LERI, which tracks when companies report later than expected, might be signaling about future volatility. Chapters: 0:20 - Why This Earnings Season Matters 1:57 - TSMC and the Semiconductor Trade 7:44 - Healthcare’s Earnings-Growth Decline 10:42 - Interview: How High Are Earnings Expectations? 12:30 - Why Analysts Are Ratcheting Up Estimates 13:15 - AI-Driven Efficiency and Operational Resilience 18:10 - Market Valuation: Are Stocks Actually Cheap? 19:58 - Forward Earnings Outlook Through 2030 20:58 - Historical Comparison: Earnings Growth Runs 22:01 - Consumer Companies and the K-Shaped Economy 27:27 - Bank Earnings Preview: Headwinds and Tailwinds 31:48 - The LERI: Are CEOs Confident or Nervous? 34:47 - Are We in an Earnings Bubble? This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com. 🎧 Prefer just the audio version? Subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts: https://on.wsj.com/3LBGo5Q?mod=WSJ_TOTWPOD #WSJ #Earnings #Semiconductors