Goldman raises its S&P 500 year-end forecast. It's for one simple reason

The S & P 500 will climb to more records this year as earnings continue to grow at a blistering pace, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank raised its year-end S & P 500 target to 8,000 from 7,600. That new forecast implies upside of 6.4% from Tuesday's close of 7,519.12. It also puts it tied for the second highest among strategists included in the 2026 CNBC Market Strategist Survey . Strategist Ben Snider raised his 2026 EPS forecast for the S & P 500 to $340 a share, which equates to a 24% increase in profit this year. "Earnings growth has powered the entire S & P 500 return so far this year, and we expect this dynamic will continue in coming months," he wrote to clients. Year to date, "the increase in consensus forward EPS estimates has outpaced the S & P 500 price gain, resulting in a decline in the P/E multiple. In fact, during the past two years, near-term earnings growth has arithmetically accounted for the entire 40% rise in the S & P 500." The strategist believes that half of that monster EPS growth this year will be from AI infrastructure investment alone. The S & P 500 is already up around 9.8% year to date as AI stocks like Micron and AMD power the benchmark higher despite worries about the conflict in Iran and rising bond yields. .SPX YTD mountain SPX year to date Snider noted a recent "exceptionally strong" first-quarter earnings season as one of the reasons for his target increase. …