To date, 152 of the 185 companies in our Retail/Restaurant Index have reported their EPS results for Q2 2026, representing 82% of the index. Of those companies that have reported their quarterly results, 73% announced profits that beat analysts’ expectations, while 5% delivered on-target results and 22% reported earnings that fell below estimates.
The Q2 2026 blended earnings growth estimate now stands at 69.3%.The blended revenue growth estimate for the 152 companies in this index is 7.7% for Q2 2026. Of those companies that have reported their quarterly results so far, 72% announced revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations and the remaining 28% reported that their revenue fell below analysts’ forecasts.
Exhibit 1: LSEG Earnings Dashboard
Source: LSEG I/B/E/S
This week in retail
Walmart reported stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings, with earnings and revenue growing 19.1% and 5.9%, respectively. The results suggest the U.S. consumer remains engaged but increasingly focused on value. U.S. SSS growth slowed materially in Q2 to 2.6%, below the 3.8% consensus estimate, although part of the weakness reflected pharmacy deflation rather than a deterioration in underlying consumer demand.
Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce surged 24%, supported by strength in store-fulfilled delivery. Store traffic remained positive, with transactions increasing 1.5% and average ticket rising 1.1%. Moreover, Walmart continued to gain market share across income cohorts, underscoring the broad appeal of its value proposition. Advertising growth also remained robust, rising 38%, while membership revenue increased at a double-digit rate, with Walmart+ recording record Q2 net additions. These higher-margin businesses, alongside improving e-commerce economics, continue to diversify Walmart’s profit streams and support earnings growth. With the discount giant reinvesting its tariff refund into lower prices, Walmart appears well positioned to capitalize further on consumers’ growing focus on value in the second half of the year.
Ross Stores is expected to report Q2 results after the closing bell today. SSS are expected to increase 7.1%, while earnings and revenue are projected to grow 24.3% and 11.8%, respectively. The off-price retailer has positive stock momentum, with a Price Momentum Model (PriceMo) score of 90, suggesting further stock price increases (Exhibit 2). Additionally, Ross Stores scores a notable 94 out of 100 on the Smart Holdings Model, indicating growing optimism from buy-side analysts. Its high return on equity (ROE) and positive price momentum make it a compelling investment choice. Its impressive score of 96 out of 100 on the StarMine Earnings Quality (EQ) Model, also reflects sustainable earnings. Taken together, these favorable StarMine signals underscore a constructive fundamental and investor sentiment backdrop heading into Q2 results.
Exhibit 2: Ross Stores StarMine Models Scores
Source: LSEG Workspace
Here are the latest Q2 2026 earnings and same store sales retail estimates:
Exhibit 3: Same Store Sales and Earnings Estimates – Q2 2026
Source: LSEG I/B/E/S
