Barclays Lifts S&P 500 Year-End Target to 7,950 on Earnings Strength

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Barclays raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,950 from 7,800, pointing to continued earnings growth and artificial intelligence-related spending. U.S. equity strategist Venu Krishna also lifted the bank's 2026 earnings forecast for the benchmark to $365 a share from $337, while the 2027 estimate rose to $414 from $389; the 2027 index target stayed at 8,800. Big Tech profits climbed 35% year over year in the second quarter, and earnings across the rest of the technology sector jumped 88%. Barclays said 86% of S&P 500 companies reporting results beat Wall Street estimates, against a long-term average of 67.5%, and cloud providers are expected to spend more than $1.1 trillion in 2027, with Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms expected to account for much of that investment. The bank cut its Utilities sector view to Neutral, and said the index could reach a high of 8,350 if conditions stay favorable but fall to 6,750 under a weaker scenario.

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