MacroAug 8, 2026, 12:32 PM

S&P 500 Headed for Record Earnings Beat as Profits Surge

Earnings per share are beating estimates by 29.2%, over four times the five-year average, while net margins hit an all-time high.

SPX

S&P 500 companies are on pace for the largest aggregate earnings beat ever recorded, with earnings per share (EPS) surpassing estimates by an aggregate +29.2%.

That is roughly 4.2 times the five-year average beat of +7.0%, which itself had been elevated historically. Meanwhile, the blended net profit margin for the index climbed to 16.9%, an all-time high.

Even after excluding one-time items—Alphabet’s $98 billion gain on unrealized equity investments and Amazon’s $53 billion gain from its Anthropic stake—year-over-year earnings growth would still stand at +32.0%.

Source: The Kobeissi Letter

14hMacroUS Manufacturing PMI Hits 56.0 in October, Highest Since May 2022S&P Global's US manufacturing PMI rose to 56.0 in October, beating expectations, while services and composite measures slipped slightly but remained near multi-year highs.
18hMacroNew US and Chinese AI billionaires add $87 billion in nine monthsCombined wealth of first-time AI billionaires from the US and China rose by $87 billion in the first nine months of 2026, reaching $221 billion, according to The Kobeissi Letter.
1dMacroAI token spending growth slows to 0.2% in September, lowest since November 2025Monthly AI token spending rose just 0.2% in September, the weakest pace since November 2025, as lower model prices and efficiency gains cut the average cost per million tokens.
2dMacroBorn2trade CEO: “Everything is about gold now. Gold traders dictate industry standards and features”Konstantin Rashap, CEO of Born2trade, says 70-90% of retail clients now trade gold, forcing brokers to compete on overnight swap costs, leverage and loyalty incentives rather than spreads alone.
2dMacroJapan Economy Minister Kiuchi Urges BOJ to Follow Joint StatementJapan’s economy minister Kiuchi said he hopes the Bank of Japan will guide policy appropriately based on its joint statement with the government, which calls for stable and sustainable price stability.

Related