The second-quarter earnings season is beginning in earnest this week, with almost 70 companies due to release results, including 29 members of the S&P 500. Large banks will take center stage, while other closely watched names such as Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group and United Airlines are also on the calendar.
According to the report, the broader earnings backdrop has remained constructive. Aggregate profit estimates for the S&P 500 have been moving higher for more than a year, with technology leading the gains for much of that period. More recently, energy and basic materials have added to the upward trend, helped in part by geopolitical developments in the Persian Gulf earlier in the year. The energy sector’s second-quarter earnings estimates have roughly doubled since April, while utilities and financials have also seen expectations improve as the quarter progressed.
For the full S&P 500, second-quarter 2026 earnings are projected to rise 23.8% from a year earlier, alongside revenue growth of 11.3%. The report notes that expectations have climbed by nearly 7 percentage points over the past three months, leaving a demanding hurdle for companies to clear. That has raised concern among some market observers that weaker-than-expected results could unsettle a stock market trading near record highs.
Even so, the report says the current forecast levels do not appear excessive, pointing to continued underlying strength in the fundamentals supporting profit estimates.
Source: nasdaq.com
