Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 2, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEuropean STOXX 600 Q1 earnings are forecast to rise ~4%, a sharp rebound from Q4’s ~2% decline, driven chiefly by surging energy sector profits amid Middle East-driven oil price spikes.
April 2 (Reuters) - European blue chip companies are set to deliver growing profits in the first quarter, the latest forecasts showed on Thursday, thanks to strong expectations for energy companies.
STOXX 600 companies are expected to report growth of 4% in first-quarter earnings, on average, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data, compared to the 2% year-on-year decline the previous quarter.
That is mostly due to a windfall blessing for energy companies as the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised crude prices by 50% to 70%
Earnings of energy companies are expected to rise by 24.9% according to LSEG's report, while other sectors are set to deliver a 1.5% increase on average
Revenues are also seen growing compared to the same period last year, albeit at a slower rate —compared to earnings— of 1.7%, the data showed
Revenues have lagged earnings in seven of the past eight quarters, showing that companies efforts to cut costs and restructure businesses could be paying off
Estimates for European companies' earnings have considerably improved in the past months, especially after the conflict began
Profits of European majors were expected to grow at a very modest 0.9% at the beginning of the year, but estimates have consistently improved in recent weeks
Investors say the reverberations of the conflict will take a while to feed through the economy
(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
European blue chip companies are expected to see a 4% growth in first-quarter profits.
The energy sector is the primary driver, with earnings expected to rise by 24.9%.
The ongoing Middle East conflict has boosted crude prices by 50-70%, benefiting energy company profits.
Revenue is seen growing by 1.7%, lagging behind the 4% growth in earnings for the first quarter.
Yes, estimates have improved from a modest 0.9% at the year’s start to 4% due to recent developments.
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