With three quarters of the S&P 500 reported, Q2 2026 blended earnings growth stands at +50.0%. Not a typo. 376 of 500 companies are in, 85% of them beat EPS estimates, and the aggregate beat is running almost 30% above what analysts modeled. Revenue is growing +13.8% on $5.1 trillion of blended quarterly sales.
Every number in this post comes from our S&P 500 Earnings Insight page, which rebuilds the index's earnings company by company every night, using actual results where companies have reported and consensus estimates where they have not. All figures are as of the August 4, 2026 close.
The Q2 2026 Scorecard
| Metric | Q2 2026 |
|---|---|
| Blended EPS growth (Y/Y) | +50.0% |
| Blended revenue growth (Y/Y) | +13.8% |
| Companies reported | 376 of 500 (75%) |
| Beating EPS estimates | 85% |
| Beating revenue estimates | 77% |
| Aggregate EPS surprise | +29.7% |
That last row deserves a second look. Reported companies have delivered $695.9B of dollar earnings against $536.5B expected - a +29.7% aggregate surprise, dollar-weighted so that a mega-cap beat counts for what it actually adds to the index. This has been a season of upward re-rating in real time: the growth number has climbed week after week as results replaced estimates.
Two Companies Are Half the Story
Earnings growth this extreme is almost never broad-based, and this quarter is no exception. Each company's contribution to the +50 points of index growth, from our company-by-company breakdown:
| Company | Contribution | Actual vs. estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Alphabet | +14.0 pts | $9.11 vs. $2.87 (+217%) |
| Amazon | +7.5 pts | $5.75 vs. $1.82 (+216%) |
| Micron | +4.5 pts | $25.11 vs. $20.98 (+20%) |
| Nvidia | +4.3 pts | Reports Aug 26 (est. $2.08) |
| Chevron | +1.5 pts | $6.06 vs. $5.55 (+9%) |
| Microsoft | +1.4 pts | $4.74 vs. $4.24 (+12%) |
Alphabet and Amazon together account for roughly 21 of the 50 points. A caveat that matters: these are GAAP results, and Amazon's quarter included a large one-time, non-operating gain on its AI investments. Strip the two mega-beats out mentally and the index is still growing at a pace most seasons never touch - but the headline number overstates what a typical company earned.
The drags are small by comparison: Meta (-0.4 pts), Berkshire Hathaway (-0.3 pts), and Honeywell (-0.2 pts) are the largest negative contributors.
Sector by Sector
| Sector | EPS growth | Revenue growth | Beating EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | +134.9% | +42.8% | 81% |
| Communication Services | +114.0% | +14.0% | 69% |
| Consumer Cyclical | +89.3% | +9.5% | 76% |
| Technology | +63.7% | +25.7% | 87% |
| Basic Materials | +33.0% | +7.7% | 89% |
| Financial Services | +23.8% | +9.6% | 88% |
| Utilities | +13.3% | +6.3% | 67% |
| Industrials | +12.9% | +9.9% | 94% |
| Healthcare | +11.1% | +7.0% | 98% |
| Consumer Defensive | +8.0% | +9.5% | 75% |
| Real Estate | -39.7% | +10.8% | 74% |
Ten of eleven sectors are growing earnings. Healthcare and Industrials are quietly delivering the highest beat rates of the season (98% and 94%), while Real Estate is the lone decliner. The sector view has the full chart set.
What the Index Actually Earns: Bottom-Up EPS
Aggregating every company's earnings per share into index terms:
| Period | Bottom-up EPS | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CY 2024 | $239.50 | Actual |
| CY 2025 | $273.67 | Actual |
| CY 2026 | $356.51 | Estimate (+29.5% growth) |
| CY 2027 | $406.37 | Estimate |
The 2026 quarterly path: Q1 came in at $81.44 (actual), Q2 is tracking $97.60 (blended, still in progress), with $87.19 and $90.28 estimated for Q3 and Q4. The four quarters sum to the calendar-year figure - that is the discipline of a true bottom-up build, and it is why the CY 2026 number moves every night as results come in.
One honest caveat while the quarter is live: a blended growth rate is a moving target. At 75% reported, a quarter of the index is still estimates, and if the beat pattern continues, the final Q2 number will settle higher than today's print.
The Valuation Question
| Measure | Today | 10-yr average |
|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 21.9x | 18.9x |
| Trailing P/E | 24.4x | 23.3x |
The market is paying a ~16% premium to its 10-year average forward multiple. The bull case is that the premium is being earned - earnings estimates have been revised up all season and the index has roughly followed them. The risk case is just as visible in the same table: at 21.9x forward, a growth stumble has little cushion. Both cases run through the same page of numbers, which is rather the point of tracking them daily.
Follow the Rest of the Season Live
The S&P 500 Earnings Insight page updates every night as results replace estimates: the Key Metrics summary, sector charts, the bottom-up EPS build, and all 500 companies with their actuals, estimates, surprises, and their exact contribution to the index growth number - sortable and filterable.
About a quarter of the index is still to report, including Nvidia on August 26. The earnings calendar shows results within minutes of each filing, and you can set alerts on your own holdings so the reports that matter to you find you first.
