Season Scorecard
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As of Sept. 4, seventy S&P 500 companies had guided third-quarter EPS up and 41 down
FactSet's Sept. 4 Earnings Insight put positive third-quarter EPS guidance at 70 companies against a five-year average of 43, with negative guidance at 41. The estimated third-quarter earnings growth rate had risen to 28.5% from 26.6% at the start of the quarter on June 30, reversing the usual within-quarter drift. All figures are as of Sept. 4 and have not been updated since.
FactSet Put Blended Second-Quarter Growth at 50.4%. Excluding Alphabet and Amazon, It Was 32.0%.
The compiler's own August 7 update carries both numbers side by side, along with an aggregate earnings surprise of 29.2% that falls to 10.9% once the same two companies come out. The stragglers reporting this week are on a different fiscal calendar entirely.
Three Wednesday-Night Reports, Three Different GAAP-to-Non-GAAP Directions: Nvidia, Salesforce and CrowdStrike
Nvidia's GAAP EPS landed above its adjusted number. Salesforce's sat $1.61 below. CrowdStrike's GAAP net income was roughly one sixty-first of its non-GAAP figure. Same label, three different stories.
Nvidia's 'Second Quarter' Ended July 26. DICK'S Ended Aug. 1. Intuit's Report Tonight Closes a Fiscal Year.
The last heavy week of the season is stacked with companies whose quarters do not line up with the calendar, with each other, or with the blended growth rate everyone is quoting.
The S&P 500's 50.4% Earnings Growth Is Mostly Two Companies. FactSet's Own Note Says So.
FactSet's August 7 Earnings Insight puts blended Q2 2026 earnings growth at 50.4% — and, in its revisions section, at 32.0% excluding Alphabet and Amazon.com. The index statistic being quoted everywhere describes two balance sheets more than it describes 500 companies.
The Q2 Scorecard Says 50% Earnings Growth. Take Out Two Companies And It Says 32%.
With 88% of the S&P 500 reported, FactSet's blended second-quarter earnings growth rate stands at 50.4%, a number with almost no precedent in the data series. Strip out two companies whose GAAP results were inflated by unrealized investment gains and the figure drops by more than 18 percentage points.
Q2 Scorecard: S&P 500 Beat Rates Hit Unusual Highs as Earnings Surprise Sets a Record
With 88% of the S&P 500 reporting, companies are topping profit estimates at the highest rate in years, and the aggregate earnings surprise is the largest FactSet has ever recorded.