Talk is no longer cheap.

It isn’t just Truth Social posts about tariffs or testimony from Fed officials that send stocks careening lately. With valuations based as much on stories as hard numbers, the past year has seen more than its share of wild moves following commentary from executives.

Back in January, for example, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said “very useful quantum computers” were more than 15 years away. Four red-hot stocks developing the technology each plunged by 35% or more. A month earlier, a comment by Google CEO Sundar Pichai about its own quantum-computing efforts, amplified by a social media "Wow" from Elon Musk, helped add a quarter of a trillion dollars to the company’s market value.

With third-quarter earnings season ramping up, be on the lookout for more strong reactions. One reason is that investors are in something of an information vacuum with most U.S. economic data on hold during the government shutdown. Another is that the largest single driver of domestic investment is now AI infrastructure spending, much of it by members of the so-called Magnificent Seven.

“Mag 7 earnings are basically macro events,” says Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at investment firm State Street.

There’s also almost nowhere to go but down for investment funds’ bets on U.S. stocks—especially those AI-related ones: Their allocation to equities as a proportion of broader portfolios is at its highest since November 2007, just before a brutal bear market. That doesn’t mean one is imminent, though Metcalfe points out that State Street’s proprietary measure of risk appetite, which is based on flows, also is elevated.

Market ructions may well follow non-tech CEO comments too. The AI capital investment boom is raising lots of questions, but the companies spending all that money aren't short on cash. The same can’t necessarily be said for American households.

“The real economy’s strain is starting to show beneath the surface of market euphoria,” wrote Bob Elliott, CEO at Unlimited Funds. He cited weakness in sectors outside the tech world that traditionally have provided early warnings to investors like him.

Questions are swirling about the health of low-income consumers amid rising prices. Overdue subprime auto loans recently hit their highest level on record and almost a fifth of loan or lease payments now exceed $1,000 a month.

Retailers are a natural place to take consumers’ temperature, though some will be careful to keep their commentary about the impact of tariffs neutral to avoid the White House’s ire. Walmart was lambasted by President Trump in May when it said it would have to start passing on some price increases.

Smaller retailers might be less-guarded. So might executives at other businesses that can provide clues about Main Street’s health—sectors like travel, dining, entertainment or housing.

Now any day can be like “Jobs Friday.”