I’m in the delusional stage of Canadian winter. Yes there’s an Arctic blast with the wind making it feel like minus 40 degrees, but on the bright side the sun is setting 37 minutes later than a month ago. And February is a short month. Then it’s March Break. So, it’s basically spring when you think about it.

Earnings season kicks into high gear with 48 companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange reporting, while 79 on the S&P 500 also release results.

Let’s take a look at the notable ones in the five things you need to know this week:

Shop til’ ya drop: Shopify SHOP-T reports Wednesday morning, just as its been swept out to sea with the rest of the software sector. Investors have been dumping software stocks on fears that AI tools are going to replace their offerings. The S&P 500 Software Index is down nearly 30 per cent in the space of just four months. Shopify has underperformed its peers, declining 40 per cent over that time. However, if there is nervousness about the year ahead, it isn’t showing up in growth expectations. Shopify is expected to post nearly 28-per-cent top-line growth and a 50-per-cent boost to earnings per share. Its outlook is likely to exceed expectations, writes CIBC Capital Markets analyst Todd Coupland. CIBC estimates that in the fourth quarter and January, web traffic among Shopify Plus and Plus fashion merchants accelerated, wrote Mr. Coupland in a preview note. The chief complaint about Shopify is that it remains expensive, but Mr. Coupland said that is justified because of “higher durable profit growth and lower tariff risks.”

Deductibles: Canadian lifecos were underperformers in 2025, lagging financials and the S&P/TSX Composite Index. It’s against this backdrop that Sun Life SLF-T, Manulife MFC-T and Great-West Life GWO-T report results this week. Sun Life had specific challenges around its U.S. health-care insurance program, particularly because of high-cost medical claims that investors are hoping are behind them. Sun Life was the key reason insurance stocks underperformed. “A turnaround of SLF’s U.S. Group businesses could be the biggest driver of performance within the group,” wrote National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine in a preview note. “In the near-term, we believe [Sun Life] is the one to watch. It has accelerated its buyback activity in recent months. A significant increase to its program size (i.e., to 4 per cent of shares outstanding) could be another positive catalyst for the stock,” wrote Mr. Dechaine.

Something for the kids: The Grinch and SpongeBob Square Pants may help McDonald’s MCD-N and Burger King when the quick-serve restaurants report results this week. McDonald’s touched a record high on Friday and a successful Grinch Meal collaboration could show up in fourth-quarter sales when it reports Wednesday morning, said Stifel analyst Chris O’Cull. “We believe investors will focus on assessing the sustainability of recent momentum,” said Mr. O’Cull. Restaurant Brands International QSR-T, the parent company of Tim Horton’s and Burger King, reports Thursday morning. Burger King could see the benefit of a SpongeBob movie partnership, Mr. O’Cull said. Meanwhile, food innovation for afternoon meals and execution around cold beverages are a source of outperformance at Tim Hortons.

Buckle up: Bombardier BBD-B-T might have something to say about the tensions between Canada and the U.S. when it reports Thursday morning. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to decertify Bombardier jets and to impose a 50-per-cent tariff because Canada had not yet certified the General Dynamic’s Gulfstream. The stock fell that day but has recovered since, in part because of the low probability the threats would come to pass. Bombardier tends to flinch at the threat of tariffs, but National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen says the company has plenty of tailwinds. “We ultimately do not see trade actions being taken against Bombardier or Canadian aerospace more broadly and continue to be positive on Bombardier shares,” wrote Mr. Doerksen shortly after the threats, citing strong business jet end-market conditions and momentum from its defence segment.

Better late than never: The U.S. will release delayed jobs data on Wednesday morning for the month of January. Economists are expecting a net 70,000 new jobs, which would be a pickup from the 50,000 created in December. However, ahead of the report a bunch of new data suggest a significant weakening in the labour market. Layoff announcements were the highest for any January going back to 2009, the number of job openings fell for a third consecutive month and are now at the lowest level since 2020, and jobless claims for the week spiked higher. “Recent labour market indicators point to a troubling and growing disconnect between economic growth and jobs,” wrote BMO chief U.S. economist Scott Anderson. “This is setting us up for a potential market-moving January Employment Report on Wednesday that could easily be worse than expected.”

In the Money with Amber Kanwar is Canada’s top investing podcast. New episodes out Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe now at www.inthemoneypod.com