First-quarter earnings reports have surpassed expectations, with about 78% of companies reporting positive results, exceeding estimates by a significant margin of 9.5%. This exceeds the long-term average of 4.2% and the average of 7% for the previous four quarters. Major companies such as Alphabet, Meta, Netflix, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, GE Aerospace, Caterpillar, and Microsoft have all reported notable earnings beats. Despite ongoing concerns about higher interest rates, the strong economy and job market continue to support earnings growth, with S&P 500 earnings expectations for Q2, Q3, and Q4 all trending upwards.