Solid start to 1Q26 earnings but no match for large-caps

May 1, 2026

Solid start to 1Q26 earnings but no match for large-caps

R2000 1Q26 YoY earnings are up 17% versus 14.9% expectations (for the 25% of companies reporting)Top line growth is up 6.6% YoY, so far showing the expected acceleration from last quarter’s 5.9%.  72% of companies, led by Tech’s 84%, are beating earnings expectations (and much stronger than the 61% observed last quarter) while 64% are beating top line estimates (vs. 66% last quarter).  Ex-Fins, however, earnings are down -2.3% (vs -8.5%) expectations though over half the companies reporting are Fins.  Almost three quarters of 1Q26’s reported earnings growth came from the index’ largest market cap quintile though a strong second place occurred in the fourth quintile (companies between $500mm and $1B market cap).