Stats › Valuation › Earnings surprises
Over ten years, 76% of S&P 500 companies beat estimates
Beating is the default outcome on both measures, and by a wide margin. Source: FactSet Earnings Insight, 24 July 2026.
US companies report earnings against an estimate set by analysts. Over ten years, 76% of S&P 500 companies have beaten that estimate, and 86% did in the second quarter of 2026. Beating is the normal outcome, so only the distance from that baseline carries information.
86%Beat rate, Q2 2026
76%Ten year average
39.3%Aggregate surprise
12.6%Excluding Alphabet
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