I. Quarterly Earnings Per Share
What a fabulous Q2-2026 earnings season it has been! So far, 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported. They broadly crushed industry analysts' forecasts for earnings and profit margins, both of which saw a boost from mark-to-market (MTM) gains from Alphabet and Amazon for a second straight quarter. These MTM gains (along with Meta’s little-mentioned gain from a tax reversal) boosted earnings by $5.88 to $75.03 during Q1 and by $14.00 to $97.83 in Q2 (chart).
As a result, S&P 500 EPS rose 19.0% y/y in Q1 and 46.7% y/y in Q2. Without the MTM gains, earnings rose 9.5% and 25.7% during those two quarters (chart)
