Corporate earnings have boomed, thanks in large part to investment in AI. In the second quarter of the year, corporate profits reached an all-time record of more than $4.7 trillion according to data from the U.S. Commerce Department.
Third-quarter earnings per share are projected to rise 29 percent for the S&P 500, compared with the same quarter in 2025. This increase would be on top of a second quarter that saw earnings per share jump 51 percent year over year.