Zacks Preview Highlights Earnings Surprises for Nvidia, Micron, Alphabet, and Nike
Zacks.com has released a preview of companies likely to deliver earnings surprises this week, including Nvidia (NVDA), Micron (MU), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Nike (NKE). The market's positive response to recent soft labor data is largely attributed to reduced expectations of a Fed rate hike in late October. Despite a moderating macroeconomic backdrop, corporate earnings continue to show strength, with S&P 500 earnings expected to increase by +24.6% year-over-year, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
The tech sector remains a key growth driver, but momentum is broadening across 15 of the 16 Zacks sectors. Positive earnings revisions have been sustained for nearly a year, initially concentrated in tech and energy, but now extending to sectors like transportation, finance, aerospace, and industrials. For Q3 2026, S&P 500 earnings are projected to grow by +27% year-over-year on +11.8% higher revenues, with estimates trending higher.
Nvidia, Micron, and Alphabet have maintained a record earnings run, with Nvidia's Q3 earnings expected to surge +90% year-over-year on +91.2% higher revenues. Alphabet's earnings are projected to rise +2.8%, while Micron's recent earnings skyrocketed +1075.7% year-over-year. Excluding these three tech giants, Q3 earnings growth for the tech sector drops to +20.5%. The Q3 earnings season kicks off on October 13th with big banks reporting, but early results from Nike and Micron already show significant growth.
Total Q3 earnings for the 16 S&P 500 members that have reported results are up +188.3% year-over-year on +31.7% higher revenues, with 81.3% beating EPS estimates and 75% beating revenue estimates. However, Micron's outsized earnings gain heavily influences these figures. Excluding Micron, Q3 earnings for the remaining 15 index members would be up +11.7%. The earnings season is expected to highlight broad-based strength across multiple sectors.