S&P 500 Q2 Earnings Growth Surpasses Expectations

The S&P 500's Q2 earnings growth has been impressive, with aggregate earnings increasing by 40.9% year-over-year on 14.5% higher revenues. This marks a significant improvement over recent historical baselines, with both growth rates and beat percentages tracking above the index's 20-quarter averages.

Excluding Micron Technology (MU) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Q2 earnings for the remaining 461 reporting index members rose by 21.5% on 13.4% higher revenue, maintaining a solid growth profile. The Tech sector remains heavily concentrated in Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), Micron Technology (MU), and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), with their combined contribution accounting for a significant portion of the sector's earnings growth.

Full-year 2026 earnings estimates have been steadily increasing since March, particularly for the Energy, Basic Materials, Tech, Industrials, Utilities, and Business Services sectors. The Transportation, Autos, Medical, and Consumer Discretionary sectors have seen declining estimates during this period.