Nike, Oracle, FedEx are part of Zacks Earnings Preview

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – April 6, 2026 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Nike NKE, Oracle ORCL, FedEx FDX.Analyzing the Energy Sector's Strong Earnings OutlookThe recent upturn in 2026 earnings estimates has been notably sharper relative to 2027 estimates, reflecting the expectation that the ongoing spike in oil prices will ease over time.As we noted in this space last week, the Energy sector has a much smaller weightage in the S&P 500 index at present compared to many years ago, both in terms of market capitalization and earnings contribution. But the steadily improving profitability outlook for the Energy sector is nevertheless adding to the overall favorable aggregate revisions trend, which we show a little later in this note.The Zacks Energy sector is currently expected to enjoy +7.6% earnings growth in 2026 Q1, up from +0.9% growth expected a week back and the -1.9% decline expected at the start of January. For full-year 2026, the expectation today is +16.3%, up from +10% earnings growth expected a week back and +5.4% growth expected at the start of January.We all intuitively understand that persistently high oil prices are not good for the U.S. economy, as high prices for gasoline, diesel, and other refined petroleum products end up acting as a tax on households. The U.S. economy is primarily consumption-driven, so high oil prices will eventually weigh on consumer spending. Offsetting this equation is the reality that the U.S. is also a major oil producer, the largest in the world, not needing any imported oil.What I am trying to explain here is that rising oil prices are undoubtedly negative for the U.S. in the final analysis, as the benefit from improved profitability of the country's energy-producing assets is offset by reduced consumer spending. But high oil prices are not negative to the same extent as they are for many other developed and developing economies that don't have domestic oil-producing assets. For example, Japan, South Korea, and even Germany and France are entirely dependent on imported oil, and the hit to those economies from high oil prices is significantly more pronounced.Oil prices in the futures market suggest that market participants don't expect current supply disruptions to persist beyond the next few weeks. Oil prices will not immediately return to where they were before the start of the conflict, but that is where they will head over time once the conflict ends.The $28.5 billion that the Zacks Energy sector is currently expected to earn in Q1 today is up from the $26.8 billion expected one week ago.There is no doubt that Energy sector stocks have been standout performers lately.The Earnings Big PictureFor 2026 Q1 as a whole, total S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase by +13.4% from the same period last year on +9% higher revenues.Estimates for the current period (2026 Q1) have largely been stable, with a steady uptick in recent weeks.We noted earlier how estimates for the Energy sector have benefited from the ongoing Iran war. But the positive revisions trend reflected in the above chart isn't solely or even mostly due to the Energy sector. Q1 earnings estimates have increased for 7 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of January 2026, including Tech, Construction, Basic Materials, and Energy.The two sets of charts below divide the S&P 500 index into cyclical and non-cyclical sectors, with cyclical sectors accounting for 43.2% of total 2026 Q1 index earnings and non-cyclical sectors accounting for 56.8%.The cyclical grouping includes the 11 Zacks, out of the 16 in the index, that can broadly be described as 'cyclical'. These include Consumer Discretionary, Retail, Autos, Basic Materials, Industrials, Construction, Conglomerates, Energy, Finance, Transportation, and Business Services.A quick comment on ongoing market volatility in response to developments in the Middle East. Please keep in mind that for these almost upbeat earnings expectations to come true, we need energy markets to stabilize. As noted earlier, an extended period of spiking oil prices has material negative implications for households as well as businesses.2026 Q1 Earnings Season ScorecardThe 2026 Q1 earnings season will really get underway when JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo come out with their March-quarter results on April 14th. But the reporting cycle has actually gotten underway already, with 18 S&P 500 members reporting results in recent days for their fiscal quarters ending in February. All of these companies with fiscal quarters ending in February, including bellwethers like Nike, Oracle, FedEx and others, are counted as part of our March-quarter tally.Total earnings for these 18 index members that have reported results already are up +80.4% from the same period last year on +16.6% higher revenues, with 72.2% beating EPS estimates and 83.3% beating revenue estimates.For a detailed look at the overall earnings picture, including expectations for the coming periods, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report >>>>Earnings Outlook Improving Despite Iran WarFree: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing StrategiesSince 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. 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All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. 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