In this quarter’s earnings reports for the S&P 500, the number of companies that beat expectations is already clearly too high. According to the FactSet update on August 7 using the Q2 2026 definition, of the 500 companies in the index, 88% have already reported their actual results.
Among this reported batch, 86% delivered earnings per share (EPS) above the analysts’ consensus, exceeding the past 5-year average of 78% and the past 10-year average of 76%. For revenue, 76% came in above expectations, higher than 70% over the past 5 years and 68% over the past 10 years. These are the above-expectations rates calculated by number of companies, not the index’s overall profit growth rate, and not for any single stock. In the same window, total EPS was 29.2% higher than expected, mainly boosted by mark-to-market investment gains recorded by Alphabet and Amazon under U.S. accounting rules. Excluding these two companies, the figure drops to 10.9%. Total revenue was 3.2% higher than expected.
Among this reported batch, 86% delivered earnings per share (EPS) above the analysts’ consensus, exceeding the past 5-year average of 78% and the past 10-year average of 76%. For revenue, 76% came in above expectations, higher than 70% over the past 5 years and 68% over the past 10 years. These are the above-expectations rates calculated by number of companies, not the index’s overall profit growth rate, and not for any single stock. In the same window, total EPS was 29.2% higher than expected, mainly boosted by mark-to-market investment gains recorded by Alphabet and Amazon under U.S. accounting rules. Excluding these two companies, the figure drops to 10.9%. Total revenue was 3.2% higher than expected.