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S&P 500 profit eyes sharpest quarterly growth in four years after Big Tech results

By Thomson Reuters May 1, 2026 | 8:54 AM

May 1 (Reuters) – Analysts’ expectations for S&P 500 earnings improved sharply ​after a week dominated ‌by megacap results, LSEG IBES data showed on Friday, even as oil prices ‌stayed ​high and ⁠tensions with Iran ⁠remained unresolved.

S&P 500 profits are expected to grow 27.8% in the first ​quarter, the strongest since the fourth quarter ⁠of 2021. ⁠That is higher ​than last Friday’s forecast of ​a 16.1% rise and ‌a 14.4% increase projected a month ago, according to LSEG IBES ⁠data.

Apple reported its strongest quarterly sales growth in more than ⁠four ‌years on Thursday, ⁠following results from Alphabet, ​Meta, ‌Amazon.com and Microsoft ​on Wednesday, ⁠capping the busiest week of the reporting season.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi ​Majumdar)