Europe Weekly Kickstart Data only update

Portfolio Strategy Research 21 August 2026 | 1:29PM BST

During the Summer, we provide a data-only Europe Kickstart Peter Oppenheimer | Goldman Sachs International

Sharon Bell | Goldman Sachs International

Guillaume Jaisson | Goldman Sachs International

Elena Porfidia | Goldman Sachs International

Jacinta Feng | Goldman Sachs International

Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to

Goldman Sachs Europe Weekly Kickstart

Exhibit 1: 2Q-26 earnings have surprised to the upside so far Exhibit 2: Analysts expect 15% earnings growth in H1, and 8% if excluding Equal Weighted (%) Commodities y/y EPS growth for the STOXX 600

15% Equal Weighted Average earnings surprise 30% STOXX 600 EPS growth y/y Average Surprise 25% 10% 20% 18% 19% 15% 15% 12% 5% 10% 8% 10% ex Commodities

5% 0% 1% 0% 0% -5% -5% Aggregate index -10% -6% -10% -10% -15%

Q2 10 Q2 11 Q2 12 Q2 13 Q2 14 Q2 15 Q2 16 Q2 17 Q2 18 Q2 19 Q2 20 Q2 21 Q2 22 Q2 23 Q2 24 Q2 25 Q2 26 H1-22 H2-22 H1-23 H2-23 H1-24 H2-24 H1-25 H2-25 H1-26 H2-26

Source: FactSet, Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research Source: FactSet, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

Exhibit 3: Earnings sentiment has climbed to its highest level in more than three Exhibit 4: Market reactions have been stronger than historical norms years Average price reaction on reporting day vs. the market - STOXX 600 companies 1-month rolling earnings sentiment (Number of analyst upgrades - downgrades) / Total number of estimates issued in the last month

50% FY2 earnings sentiment 3 Average relative price reaction (%) 3 40% 2 2 30% Positive earnings surprise S&P 500 20% 1 1 10% 0 0 0% -1 -1 -10% -20% -2 -2 -30% STOXX 600 -3 -3 -40% Negative earnings surprise -50% -4 -4

-60% Q2-06 Q2-08 Q2-10 Q2-12 Q2-14 Q2-16 Q2-18 Q2-20 Q2-22 Q2-24 Q2-26 Jan-23 Jul-23 Jan-24 Jul-24 Jan-25 Jul-25 Jan-26 Jul-26

Source: FactSet, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research Source: FactSet , Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research