There’s a good reason stocks continue to hit all-time highs—most companies are beating expectations, JPMorgan says
Key Takeaways
Seventy-six percent of the companies reporting their Q2 results so far have beaten earnings estimates, JPMorgan says.
Article Overview
Quick insights and key information
3 min read
Estimated completion
cryptocurrency
Article classification
August 13, 2025
10:57 AM
Fortune
Original publisher
Finance·There’s a good reason stocks continue to hit all-time highs—most companies are beating expectations, JPMorgan saysBy Jim EdwardsBy Jim EdwardsExecutive Editor, Global NewsJim EdwardsExecutive Editor, Global NewsJim Edwards is the executive editor for global news at Fortune
He was previously the editor-in-chief of Insider's news division and the founding editor of Insider UK
His investigative journalism has changed the law in two U.S. federal districts and two states
Supreme Court cited his work on the death penalty in the concurrence to Baze v
Rees, the ruling on whether lethal injection is cruel or unusual
He also won the Neal award for an investigation of bribes and kickbacks on Madison Avenue.SEE FULL BIO Stocks are up because earnings are good.LZF via Getty ImagesWhy are stocks hitting record highs? Because the vast majority of companies are beating earnings and revenue expectations
With inflation contained and a Fed rate cut ly in September, investors remain optimistic
However, some analysts warn that overvalued stocks may signal a potential market correction
Global mostly rose today, while Bitcoin declined
S&P 500 futures moved up this morning after the index closed at another all-time high yesterday, hitting 6,445.76
With inflation largely under control, investors appear to be assuming that the U.S
Federal Reserve will der a 0.25% interest rate cut in September
Some analysts think that if the labor market continues to slow down, the cut might be 0.5%
Regardless, the hope of incoming cheaper money is good for stocks
Maybe … too good for stocks? Some analysts think the market is heavily overvalued and thus due for a correction
The S&P’s value is heavily driven by stocks, according to Apollo Management, and on one measure, those stocks are more overvalued today than their equivalents were in the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s
That bubble burst in 2000, and the index did not regain a new high until 2006
But there’s another reason that traders continue to favor stocks
The fact is, companies are doing really well, according to JPMorgan
Seventy-six percent of the companies reporting their Q2 results so far have beaten earnings estimates, and 77% have beaten revenue estimates, according to Dubravko Lakos-Bujas
Sixty-two percent have been double-beats
Eighty-nine percent of the S&P 500 has reported Q2 earnings so far, and their average revenue growth is 6.1% over the prior year
Their net income growth is 10.9%, Lakos-Bujas says
With companies overperforming versus expectations, and a September rate cut looking inevitable, it is not surprising that investors are buying into the action
Here’s a snapshot of the action prior to the opening bell in New York: S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.2% this morning, premarket, after the index closed up 1.13% yesterday
STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.49% in early trading
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.16% in early trading
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.3%, another all-time high
China’s CSI 300 was up 0.79%
The South Korea KOSPI was up 1.08%
India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.69%
Bitcoin declined to $119.9K.Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world
Explore this year's list.
Related Articles
More insights from FinancialBooklet