JPMorgan Hikes S&P 500 Target to 8,000 Amid AI Spending Payoff

JPMorgan strategists have raised their year-end target for the S&P 500 to 8,000 points, citing strong corporate earnings and evidence that artificial intelligence spending is paying off.

The team led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas increased its forecast from 7,800 to 8,000, implying a roughly 3% upside from the recent close of 7,757.64. The S&P 500 tracks 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies and serves as a key benchmark for the broader stock market.

The strategists pointed to second-quarter earnings as the main driver, with corporate profits jumping 32% in one of the strongest quarterly advances on record. Nearly four in five companies that reported results beat earnings expectations, and about 73% topped revenue forecasts.