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Q2 2026 Executive Briefing:Performance and Benchmarks

Second-quarter 2026 results from company earnings releases and SEC filings.

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Next edition: the Q3 2026 update will be released in early to mid-November. All editions ↓

Summary

Q2 2026: continued and increasing optimism, performance and guidance

Summary: 207 US public companies in six sectors, Q2 2026 earnings releases and SEC filings

Broad and accelerating. Across sectors, revenue, earnings and optimism are strong and rising. This is not a one-sector story: every sector grew, and executives in every sector are more confident than they were three months ago.

AI, defense and Life Sciences lead. Sectors serving the AI supply chain (e.g., goods and services for the data-center and power build-out) and defense, along with Life Sciences, are leading with torrid growth and the most confident executives. These are multi-year spending cycles, and their guidance says they are far from over.

Consumer markets lag. Sectors directly exposed to consumer markets (e.g., Consumer Products and Automotive) are lagging on growth and earnings. Their executives remain optimistic, but cautiously so. That optimism may not be justified: struggling consumers are pushing back on price, and many of these companies have little room left to raise it. As a result, those companies are leaning on cost reduction to protect earnings.

Inflation is an increasing worry. Inflation has overtaken tariffs as the most-cited headwind. Arcpath anticipates that it will pressure pricing, cost management and, ultimately, earnings well beyond the companies naming it today, and consumer markets will feel it first.

Tariff refunds support earnings. Tariffs have faded as a concern, and refunds of tariffs already paid are now among the most-cited tailwinds. However, they are a one-time windfall that Arcpath has removed from this analysis.

Key results

Q2 2026: EPS up 13.5%, sentiment up in all six sectors, guidance raised in five of six

Key results: All Sectors and by sector; 207 US public companies, Q2 2026 earnings releases

EPS growth, All Sectors

Quarterly, YoY: Q2 2026 against Q2 2025

+13.5%up from +11.2% in Q1 2026

Executive sentiment index, All Sectors

Quarterly: Q2 2026 against Q1 2026

50 is neutral; above 50, executives on balance raised guidance and spoke positively about their markets.

Guidance raised in five sectors; Automotive slightly lower

Full-year revenue guidance (annual): change since Q1 2026 releases, percentage points

SectorChange in Annual Revenue Guidance (pts)†−10+1+2+3Guided annual revenue growthShare of companiesRaisedLowered

All Sectors+1.46.4%59%16%

Aerospace and Defense+2.512.8%87%0%

Chemicals †+1.4%n/a43%14%

Life Sciences+1.27.2%60%17%

Industrial Equipment+1.19.3%78%7%

Consumer Products+0.41.9%43%30%

Automotive †−0.1%n/a42%11%

† Profit guidance in place of revenue guidance for Automotive and Chemicals: companies guiding revenue hold under half of these sectors’ weight, so the change shown is in profit guidance (EPS, or the main profit measure), %.

Sectors at a glance

Q2 at a glance: sentiment and revenue grew in every sector

Sector breakdown: financial metrics, sentiment and operational metrics, Q2 2026

In brief

Financial: revenue growth (quarterly, YoY) picked up in Life Sciences, Automotive and Chemicals, and slowed in Consumer Products and Industrial Equipment.
Financial: revenue QoQ rose in all six sectors, as it usually does in the second quarter: All Sectors +8.2%, against +7.7% a year earlier.
Sentiment: the index rose in all six sectors; guidance was raised in five sectors and slightly lower in Automotive.
Operational: inventory grew more slowly than revenue in six sectors; 31% of companies cite a cost program.

Sector	Financial metrics					Sentiment		Operational metrics
Sector	Revenue growthQuarterly, YoY	Revenue growthQuarterly, QoQ	Operating income growthQuarterly, YoY	EPS growthQuarterly, YoY	Operating marginAnnual (TTM)	Sentiment indexQuarterly; change QoQ	Revenue guidanceAnnual (full year); change vs Q1, pts	Cost programsShare of companies	InventoryQuarterly, YoY
Consumer Products	+2.3%	+2.1%	+2.6%	+0.4%	12.7%	61up 4	1.9%up 0.4	48%	−4.4%
Life Sciences	+11.3%	+9.5%	+16.2%	+16.3%	29.4%	77up 7	7.2%up 1.2	13%	+7.7%
Industrial Equipment	+9.3%	+8.8%	+15.0%	+19.2%	16.7%	83up 6	9.3%up 1.1	15%	+8.0%
Automotive	+3.2%	+9.3%	−1.7%	+6.9%	3.7%	72up 10	Profit †down 0.1%	43%	−3.5%
Aerospace and Defense	+12.5%	+7.0%	+23.9%	+27.5%	15.4%	94up 10	12.8%up 2.5	20%	+9.0%
Chemicals	+11.0%	+16.7%	+9.4%	+11.6%	12.1%	65up 7	Profit †up 1.4%	69%	−3.2%
All Sectors	+8.0%	+8.2%	+10.7%	+13.5%	16.5%	74up 6	6.4%up 1.4	31%	+2.8%

† Profit guidance in place of revenue guidance for Automotive and Chemicals: companies guiding revenue hold under half of these sectors’ weight, so the change shown is in profit guidance (EPS, or the main profit measure), %.

Inventory: total inventory on the balance sheet (raw materials, work in process and finished goods), net of reserves.

Growth

All Sectors: growth picked up in Q2, with profits rising faster than revenue

Financial metrics: All Sectors combined, and revenue growth by sector

All Sectors: growth indices

Annual (TTM): trailing four quarters, index January 1, 2025 = 100

RevenueOperating incomeEPS

Revenue growth by sector

Quarterly, YoY: Q2 2026 and Q1 2026; QoQ for Q2 2026

Q2 2026, YoYQ1 2026, YoY

Sector0%4%8%12%QoQ

All Sectors+8.0%+8.2%

Aerospace and Defense+12.5%+7.0%

Life Sciences+11.3%+9.5%

Chemicals+11.0%+16.7%

Industrial Equipment+9.3%+8.8%

Automotive+3.2%+9.3%

Consumer Products+2.3%+2.1%

All Sectors: revenue grew +8.0% YoY in Q2, against +7.5% in Q1; operating income +10.7% and EPS +13.5%.
Aerospace and Defense grew fastest (+12.5% YoY); Chemicals picked up most (+11.0% from +5.3%); Consumer Products slowed most (+2.3% from +3.5%).

Benchmarks

Aerospace and Defense leads on growth and Life Sciences on margin; Automotive trails

Benchmarks to Q2 2026: sector average and the middle half of companies; the basis is under each measure

Middle half of companies (25th to 75th percentile)MedianSector average

Revenue growthAnnual (TTM), %, YoYEPS growthQuarterly, %, YoYSG&AAnnual (TTM), % of salesOperating marginAnnual (TTM), % of sales

01020Average−2002040Average02040Average0102030Average

All Sectors+6.5%1 to 9+13.5%−1 to 2618.1%15 to 3216.5%6 to 19

Consumer Products+2.1%−2 to 6+0.4%−22 to 2829.0%18 to 4112.7%5 to 13

Life Sciences+9.9%3 to 11+16.3%2 to 2322.9%21 to 3729.4%9 to 29

Industrial Equipment+8.5%5 to 10+19.2%7 to 2317.0%16 to 2316.7%7 to 19

Automotive+1.4%−1 to 4+6.9%−14 to 2210.2%7 to 163.7%3 to 9

Aerospace and Defense+12.0%8 to 18+27.5%14 to 4111.2%9 to 1615.4%9 to 18

Chemicals+4.1%−1 to 8+11.6%0 to 1916.0%8 to 2212.1%7 to 14

Revenue growthAnnual (TTM), %, YoY

01020Average

All Sectors+6.5%1 to 9

Consumer Products+2.1%−2 to 6

Life Sciences+9.9%3 to 11

Industrial Equipment+8.5%5 to 10

Automotive+1.4%−1 to 4

Aerospace and Defense+12.0%8 to 18

Chemicals+4.1%−1 to 8

EPS growthQuarterly, %, YoY

−2002040Average

All Sectors+13.5%−1 to 26

Consumer Products+0.4%−22 to 28

Life Sciences+16.3%2 to 23

Industrial Equipment+19.2%7 to 23

Automotive+6.9%−14 to 22

Aerospace and Defense+27.5%14 to 41

Chemicals+11.6%0 to 19

SG&AAnnual (TTM), % of sales

02040Average

All Sectors18.1%15 to 32

Consumer Products29.0%18 to 41

Life Sciences22.9%21 to 37

Industrial Equipment17.0%16 to 23

Automotive10.2%7 to 16

Aerospace and Defense11.2%9 to 16

Chemicals16.0%8 to 22

Operating marginAnnual (TTM), % of sales

0102030Average

All Sectors16.5%6 to 19

Consumer Products12.7%5 to 13

Life Sciences29.4%9 to 29

Industrial Equipment16.7%7 to 19

Automotive3.7%3 to 9

Aerospace and Defense15.4%9 to 18

Chemicals12.1%7 to 14

Life Sciences has the widest margins (29.4% on average); Aerospace and Defense the fastest revenue growth (+12.0%) and the highest EPS growth (+27.5%).
Automotive has the thinnest margins (3.7%); Consumer Products has the lowest EPS growth (+0.4%) and the highest SG&A.

Sentiment

Sentiment is high and rose in all six sectors; Aerospace and Defense leads by a wide margin

Sentiment: the index by sector, and what executives cited in Q2 2026 earnings releases

Sentiment index by sector

Quarterly: Q2 2026 against Q1 2026, with the two halves of each score

10 from 84 in Q1

Aerospace and Defense

Guidance 92 · Tone 96

6 from 77 in Q1

Industrial Equipment

Guidance 79 · Tone 88

7 from 70 in Q1

Life Sciences

Guidance 67 · Tone 87

10 from 62 in Q1

Automotive

Guidance 64 · Tone 80

7 from 58 in Q1

Chemicals

Guidance 61 · Tone 69

4 from 57 in Q1

Consumer Products

Guidance 55 · Tone 68

Change from Q1:ImprovingDeterioratingUnchanged

What executives cited

Share of companies citing each theme in their Q2 release (204 scored)

Tailwinds

Customer demand71%

New products38%

Tariff relief or refunds18%

Headwinds

Input cost inflation14%

Weak consumer spending12%

Weak end markets9%

AI and other new technology

Any mention8%

In their own operations5%

As a source of demand5%

Costs and inventory

All Sectors: inventory grew more slowly than revenue; 31% cite a cost program

Operational metrics: announced cost programs, and inventory against revenue

Cost programs by sector

Savings companies state in their releases, % annual net sales

Supply chainSG&AUnallocated

SectorSavings, % annual net salesCite a
program

All Sectors1.7%31%

Consumer Products2.7%48%

Chemicals2.0%69%

Automotive1.4%43%

Industrial Equipment0.7%15%

Life SciencesNo savings amounts stated13%

Aerospace and DefenseNo savings amounts stated20%

0%1%2%3%

Savings are averages for the companies that state a specific amount.

All Sectors: inventory and revenue

Quarterly: quarter-end inventory; revenue annual (TTM); December 31, 2024 = 100

InventoryRevenue

Chemicals (69%) and Consumer Products (48%) cite programs most often; companies that state savings average 1.7% annual net sales.
All Sectors: inventory rose +2.8% YoY against +6.5% for revenue (TTM).

The full briefing

Get the complete Q2 2026 Executive Briefing: Performance and Benchmarks

A quarterly review of financial and operational results and executive sentiment at 207 US public companies in six sectors, drawn from their earnings releases and SEC filings.

Download the full briefing (PDF)

Designed for rapid benchmarkingIn a few minutes, see how each sector is performing and where a company stands against its peers.

See the full briefing for definitions and notes.

Source: company earnings releases and SEC filings (SEC EDGAR), Q2 2026; Arcpath analysis.

Method: 207 US public companies in six sectors; Q2 2026 covers fiscal quarters ending May to July 2026. Profit excludes tariff refunds and one-time charges for acquired in-process R&D. Earnings calls are not covered. Arcpath methodology version 1.7.

Editions

Executive Briefing Editions

A new edition follows each quarter’s earnings season. Every edition keeps its own page and downloadable PDF.

This edition

Q2 2026

Second-quarter 2026 results

207 US public companies in six sectors

Download the PDF

Coming soon

Q3 2026

Third-quarter 2026 results

Release planned for early to mid-November 2026