CluenexEarnings beat rate: how often US companies beat estimates
What percentage of companies beat earnings estimates?
For fiscal quarters ending in 2026 Q2, 73% of 984 reporting companies among the roughly 1,000 largest US-listed companies that Cluenex covers beat the consensus earnings per share estimate, with a median surprise of 4.4%. The average beat rate over the previous 4 quarters was 72%. Early reporters for 2026 Q3: 86% of the first 111 beat.
By sector, 2026 Q2
| Sector | Companies | Beat rate | Median surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Materials | 55 | 71% | 2.9% |
| Communication Services | 42 | 50% | 1.2% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 118 | 69% | 3.0% |
| Consumer Defensive | 58 | 62% | 1.7% |
| Energy | 34 | 74% | 10.7% |
| Financial Services | 150 | 72% | 3.8% |
| Healthcare | 100 | 84% | 6.3% |
| Industrials | 173 | 77% | 4.9% |
| Real Estate | 63 | 59% | 4.4% |
| Technology | 146 | 84% | 6.3% |
| Utilities | 45 | 64% | 4.5% |
Quarter by quarter
| Fiscal quarter | Companies | Beat | Missed | Median surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | 984 | 73% | 27% | 4.4% |
| 2026 Q1 | 984 | 75% | 25% | 4.8% |
| 2025 Q4 | 980 | 66% | 34% | 2.7% |
| 2025 Q3 | 957 | 73% | 27% | 4.4% |
| 2025 Q2 | 828 | 73% | 26% | 4.0% |
Questions people ask
What percentage of companies beat earnings estimates?
For fiscal quarters ending in 2026 Q2, 73% of the 984 companies Cluenex tracked beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the previous 4 quarters the average was 72%.
Why do most companies beat earnings estimates?
Companies guide analysts toward numbers they expect to clear, and analysts tend to trim estimates as the quarter goes on. A beat rate in the 70s is normal; what moves a stock is usually the size of the beat and the guidance for the next quarter.
How we count
- Universe: the roughly 1,000 largest US-listed companies that Cluenex covers. Actual and estimated EPS per company and fiscal quarter, from licensed market data.
- Beat = actual EPS above the consensus estimate; miss = below; equal counts as neither. Quarters are fiscal period end dates grouped by calendar quarter.
- A quarter is headlined once at least 200 companies have reported.
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Statistics describe the past and are not a forecast or a recommendation.