JPMorgan Lifts S&P 500 Target to 8,000 Amid Strong Earnings Growth
The S&P 500 index has closed its best week since April, pushing it near Wall Street's average year-end forecast. The benchmark finished at a record 7,757.64, up 3.58% for the week and just 1% under the predicted 7,845. JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas has increased the bank's 2026 year-end S&P 500 target to 8,000 from 7,800, implying a 3.1% upside from Friday's close.
The earnings estimate did all the work behind this upward revision. JPMorgan raised its 2026 earnings-per-share forecast to $365 from $350, or 35% growth, against a $358 consensus. The forward multiple stayed at around 20 times, with Lakos-Bujas citing higher-for-longer rates, geopolitical risk, and heavy equity and debt supply as factors.
The AI spending cycle is starting to matter in the earnings story. JPMorgan says the latest season provides evidence that capital spending is translating into revenue growth. Cloud businesses are showing strong momentum, with Google Cloud's backlog increasing by $52 billion quarter over quarter to $514 billion and Amazon's reaching $496 billion.