JPMorgan named the global leader in raising earnings forecasts. It's not the U.S.

A strong start to the corporate earnings season has led to a sharp improvement in profit forecasts for European companies. According to JPMorgan, Europe is the region where analysts are most eager to raise their expectations for corporate earnings per share.

Among all regions of the world, analysts are raising their corporate earnings forecasts most aggressively in Europe, Bloomberg reports, citing a review by JPMorgan Chase strategists. The report focuses on earnings per share (EPS) expectations. It is unusual for the European market to lead the way in positive revisions to these expectations, Bloomberg notes. According to Citigroup, over the past two years, analysts have, on the contrary, more often lowered their earnings forecasts for European companies. However, the trend has shifted since May, and the pace of forecast revisions in Europe has outpaced the global average by the widest margin in the past 17 months.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence, companies in the MSCI Europe Index are expected to report a 12% increase in earnings per share for this reporting season compared with the same period last year—the best result in more than three years, the agency notes. And although this is only half the rate seen among U.S. companies, Bloomberg analysts expect the earnings growth of European firms to continue accelerating in the coming quarters.

According to JPMorgan, among European countries, the strongest improvement in EPS expectations is seen among companies in Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

The most significant upward revisions to forecasts were recorded in the technology sector, as well as in the financial and industrial sectors. At the same time, the investment bank’s strategists believe that market rotation is now shifting toward more defensive sectors and recommend that investors favor companies in the consumer staples and healthcare sectors rather than financial and technology stocks. In their view, higher-risk stocks may have already peaked, so further gains in their prices seem less justified.

Against the backdrop of a strong start to the earnings season, analysts continue to revise their corporate earnings forecasts upward across all regions except the Asia-Pacific, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg notes that the easing of geopolitical tensions in April following the conclusion of a temporary truce between the U.S. and Iran provided additional support for optimistic earnings expectations in Europe, adding that this led to a reduction in pressure from oil prices. Despite the recent rise in the price of Brent crude, prices remain below the highs of $126 per barrel reached during the conflict.

The European stock market has lagged slightly behind the U.S. market since the start of the year. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index has gained about 7.2% since the beginning of 2026, while the S&P 500 has risen by approximately 8% over the same period.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor