Research from Morgan Stanley showed that the median EPS surprise for S&P 500 companies reached 6% in the first quarter of 2026, the strongest reading in four years and above the long-run average of around 5.5%.
Because this measure reflects the median company rather than a few large-cap firms, it suggested that earnings outperformance was broadly distributed across corporate America rather than being driven solely by a handful of technology giants. While modest earnings beats were common,...
