Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: Amazon and Tesla
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 26, 2026 – Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, " Estimates for the Energy sector have moved higher since the start of March, but estimates have also increased for 7 other Zacks sectors, including Tech, Finance, Construction, Basic Materials, and Transportation."
Earnings Output Improving Despite Iran War
Note: The following is an excerpt from this week’s Earnings Trends report. You can access the full report that contains detailed historical actual and estimates for the current and following periods, please click here>>>
Here are the key points:
- Total S&P 500 earnings in the first quarter of 2026 are currently expected to increase by +12.8% from the same period last year on +8.8% higher revenues. This would follow the +14% increase in earnings on +9.1% higher revenues in the preceding period (2025 Q4).
- Estimates for 2026 Q1 and full-year 2026 remain positive, with the favorable revisions trend firmly in place even after the start of the Middle East conflict.
- Estimates for the Energy sector have moved higher since the start of March, but estimates have also increased for 7 other Zacks sectors, including Tech, Finance, Construction, Basic Materials, and Transportation.
- The Tech sector has been a critical growth pillar since 2023 Q3 and is expected to play that role in 2026 Q1 as well, with expected earnings growth of +27.1%. Excluding the Tech sector’s substantial contribution, Q1 earnings growth for the rest of the S&P 500 index would be +5.6% (vs. +12.8% otherwise).
A Favorable Revisions Trend, Driven by the Tech Sector
Elevated headline risks resulting from geopolitical turmoil have joined pre-existing worries about the future of software businesses and the seemingly ever-rising spending by the Mag 7 companies. Sentiment, as a result, has been downbeat on Mag 7 and software stocks.
There is a fair amount of overlap between the Mag 7 stocks and the Tech sector, but the Zacks industry classification system places two of the Mag 7 stocks – Amazon AMZN and Tesla TSLA – outside the Tech sector, with AmazonAMZN-- in the Zacks Retail sector and TeslaTSLA-- in the Zacks Auto sector.
The soft sentiment on the Mag 7 stocks and Tech sectors notwithstanding, these two spaces represent the most robust profitability centers in the entire S&P 500 index, with a steadily improving earnings outlook reflected in positive estimate revisions.
The revisions trend has been broadly positive since the start of the period in January, and the favorable trend has remained unchanged since the start of hostilities in the Middle East. Estimates for the Energy sector that had earlier been under pressure have reversed course and are now going up. But estimates are actually up for half of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of March, aside from Energy, including the Tech, Finance, Construction, and Basic Materials sectors.
For 2026 Q1, the Zacks Tech sector is expected to produce +27.1% earnings growth on +22.5% higher revenues.
The Tech sector has been a critical pillar of aggregate earnings growth since 2023 Q3 and is expected to play that role in 2026 Q1 as well.
For Q1 as a whole, total S&P 500 earnings are expected to be up +12.8% from the same period last year. But the aggregate growth pace drops to +5.6% once the Tech sector’s contribution is excluded.
Even more importantly, estimates for the Tech sector are steadily going up, notwithstanding the aforementioned sentiment issues.
The Earnings Big Picture
An interesting development on the revisions front has been how full-year 2026 estimates have evolved since the start of the Iran war. No surprises in the trend reversal in Energy sector estimates since the start of March, but estimates for 8 other sectors have also moved higher in that time period. The Tech sector’s positive revisions trend has continued in this period, while the revisions trends for the Basic Materials and Consumer Staples sectors shifted from negative to positive since the start of March.
The Energy sector accounted for 4.5% of all S&P 500 earnings in 2025, so it lacks the heft that it once enjoyed to drive the aggregate growth picture all on its own. It is reasonable to expect elevated oil prices to eventually start weighing on the profitability of other sectors. We are not there yet, but if the ongoing supply-side issues persist for another couple of months, we should expect earnings estimates in the aggregate to come under pressure.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock
This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.
With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028.
See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Comentarios
Aún no hay comentarios