The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that the S&P 500 is set for its strongest earnings growth in five years, with 93 per cent of companies reporting and 83 per cent beating analyst expectations, the highest since 2021. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that growth is widespread, despite softer consumer sentiment due to rising oil prices. Communications services and consumer discretionary sectors showed notable surprises, along with materials and industrials exceeding expectations. BI's Nathaniel Welnhofer and Christopher Cain say, "If cyclical and non-AI sectors begin contributing while Nvidia and AI complex keep minting earnings, 2026 could look less like a late-cycle slowdown and more like a replay of the 2021 post-pandemic profit boom." Gains for the year are projected to be concentrated in energy, materials, and technology sectors. Most S&P 500 earnings growth is driven by Big Tech, with AI companies expected to help the index exceed 20-per-cent earnings growth in 2026. The sector, heavily weighted by Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, saw a bump from analysts coming out of the first quarter, with more than 90 per cent of the group beating earnings expectations for a fourth straight quarter.