Large American companies may be on track to report the highest profits in more than 15 years, according to an analysis published Friday, Jan. 30.
With one-third of companies represented in the S&P 500 having reported their quarterly earnings so far, the average net profit margin is 13.2%, according to the report by John Butters, data provider FactSet’s senior earnings analyst.
If the actual net profit margin for the quarter winds up being 13.2% when all companies are finished reporting, it will be the highest on record back to 2009, when FactSet started tracking the metric.
Net profit margin is just one way of slicing and dicing all the data that accompanies earnings, of course, and some other measurements are a bit less rosy, Butters pointed out.
For example, of 11 S&P 500 sectors – groupings of stocks according to industry and function – three are reporting an increase in net profit margin in the final three months of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter 2024. But eight are reporting a decrease in net profit margins in the same time period.
Still, given the headwinds from tariffs and other policy uncertainties, companies are doing well, Butters wrote.
“It is interesting to note that analysts believe net profit margins for the S&P 500 will be even higher in 2026,” he added. “As of today, the estimated net profit margins for Q1 2026 through Q4 2026 are 13.2%, 13.8%, 14.2%, and 14.2%, respectively.”
As previously reported, analysts believe U.S. stocks will end 2026 higher, although they differ on how much higher.
In December, Deutsche Bank strategists forecast an 18% increase for the S&P 500. LPL Financial, meanwhile, forecast about an 8% increase.
Despite higher tariffs, corporate earnings are being buoyed by a rush to capitalize on artificial intelligence technology as well as tax cuts passed in 2025.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Corporate earnings are coming in fine despite tariffs, report says
