For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 23, 2026– Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, "For the 81 S&P 500 companies that have reported Q2 results already, total earnings are up +40.6% from the same period last year on +13.3% higher revenues, with 91.4% beating EPS estimates and 81.5% beating revenue estimates."
S&P 500 Q2 Earnings Beats Hit 5-Year Highs as Growth Accelerates
Note: The following is an excerpt from this week's Earnings Trends report. You can access the full report that contains detailed historical actual and estimates for the current and following periods, please click here>>>
Here are the key points:
The Q2 earnings season is displaying exceptional momentum, characterized by widespread beat rates and an accelerating growth pace. Both earnings and revenue growth—alongside the percentage of positive surprises—are tracking well above recent quarterly averages. While it is still relatively early in the reporting cycle, with results from only 16% of S&P 500 members out, these early results strongly validate the underlying health and resilience of the corporate earnings picture. For the 81 S&P 500 companies that have reported Q2 results already, total earnings are up +40.6% from the same period last year on +13.3% higher revenues, with 91.4% beating EPS estimates and 81.5% beating revenue estimates. This is a notably better showing from these 81 index members relative to other recent periods, both in terms of the earnings and revenue growth rates as well in terms of the beats percentages. The EPS and revenue beats percentages for these 81 index members is matching the 5-year high from 2021 Q3. The Q2 earnings and revenue growth rates have been boosted by Micron's (MU) very strong quarterly results, but the earnings and revenue growth rates would still compare favorably with other recent periods when we exclude Micron from these results. Excluding Micron, Q2 earnings for the remaining 80 index members that have reported Q2 results would be up +20.5% (vs. +40.6% otherwise) on +9.9% higher revenues (vs. +13.3% otherwise).High Beat Rates Against Rising Estimates
While the big banks and brokerages provided a powerful launchpad for the Q2 earnings season, reporting momentum has rapidly expanded well beyond the Finance sector. The central theme emerging across the broader market remains one of consistent, widespread strength.
Companies across a diverse spectrum of industries — ranging from General Motors and AT&T to Wabtec and CME Group — are comfortably topping consensus estimates. More importantly, management commentary across these varied sectors continues to offer reassuring signals regarding underlying demand and operational resilience in their respective markets.
The proportion of companies beating both Q2 EPS and revenue estimates is tracking at a 20-quarter high.
What makes this achievement particularly impressive is the backdrop: analysts actually revised Q2 estimates upward heading into reporting season. This stands in stark contrast to historical trends, where earnings expectations are typically lowered ahead of time to create an easy bar for companies to clear. Beating these elevated expectations underscores the genuine underlying strength of corporate earnings.
The Earnings Big Picture
As with estimates for Q2, estimates for full-year 2026 have also been steadily going up, particularly since the start of March.
Full-year 2026 earnings estimates have increased for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of March, with the most pronounced gains at the Energy, Basic Materials, Tech, Industrials, Utilities, and Business Services sectors. On the negative side, estimates have been under pressure for the Transportation, Autos, Medical, and Consumer Discretionary sectors since the start of March. History suggests that these favorable revisions will get a boost from the Q2 earnings season and updated management guidance.
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AT&T Inc. (T): Free Stock Analysis Report
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