Wall Street now expects S&P 500 companies to deliver 32% earnings growth in 2026, up from 24% before second-quarter results. The revisions, led by consumer discretionary and communication services, reflect the widening impact of heavy artificial-intelligence investment. Among companies that have reported, 86% exceeded profit expectations, the highest beat rate since 2021, according to Bloomberg Intelligence (BI). BI analyst Nathaniel Welnhofer said second-quarter momentum is running ahead of the first quarter and identified AI investment as the main driver of projected 2026 profit growth. Amazon.com and Alphabet were among the companies with the largest earnings beats.