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Oracle's, Micron and FedEx are part of Zacks Earnings Preview
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 30, 2026 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) , Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) , and FedEx (FDX - Free Report) .
The Evolving Earnings Picture Amid Elevated Oil Prices
Uncertainty about oil prices due to the ongoing war is weighing on the market at present. But the associated spike in oil prices has done wonders for the Energy sector's earnings outlook.
The sector no longer enjoys the heft it once enjoyed in broad market indexes like the S&P 500 index – the sector accounted for 4.5% of all S&P 500 earnings in 2025, down from 13% in 2011 – but the steadily improving profitability outlook for the Energy sector is nevertheless adding to the overall favorable aggregate revisions trend.
The Zacks Energy sector is currently expected to enjoy +0.9% earnings growth in 2026 Q1, a material improvement from the -1.9% decline that was expected in early January. For full-year 2026, the expectation today is for +10% earnings growth, up from +5.4% earnings growth expected in early January.
We all intuitively understand that persistently high oil prices are not good for the U.S. economy, as high prices for gasoline, diesel, and other refined petroleum products end up acting as a tax on households. The U.S. economy is primarily consumption-driven, so high oil prices will eventually weigh on consumer spending. Offsetting this equation is the reality that the U.S. is also a major oil producer, one of the largest in the world, and does not need any imported oil.
What I am trying to explain here is that rising oil prices are undoubtedly negative for the U.S. in the financial analysis, as the benefit from improved profitability of the country’s energy-producing assets is offset by reduced consumer spending. But high oil prices are not as negative as they are in many other developed and developing economies that lack domestic oil production. For example, Japan, South Korea, and even Germany and France are entirely dependent on imported oil, and the hit to those economies from high oil prices is significantly more pronounced.
Oil prices in the futures market suggest that market participants don’t expect current supply disruptions to persist beyond the next few weeks. Oil prices will not immediately return to where they were before the start of the conflict, but that is where they will be heading over time once the conflict ends.
The Earnings Big Picture
For 2026 Q1 as a whole, total S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase by +13% from the same period last year on +8.9% higher revenues.
We noted earlier how estimates for the Energy sector have benefited from the ongoing Iran war. But the positive revision trend reflected in the above chart isn’t solely or even mostly due to the Energy sector. Q1 earnings estimates have increased for 7 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of January 2026, including Tech, Construction, Basic Materials, and Energy.
The jump in Energy sector estimates has been the most pronounced since the start of the Iran conflict, but estimates have actually risen for half of the 16 Zacks sectors.
A quick comment on ongoing market volatility in response to developments in the Middle East. Please keep in mind that for these almost upbeat earnings expectations to come true, we need energy markets to stabilize. As noted earlier, an extended period of spiking oil prices has material negative implications for households as well as businesses.
2026 Q1 Earnings Season Scorecard
The 2026 Q1 earnings season will really get underway when JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo come out with their March-quarter results on April 14th. But the reporting cycle has already begun, with 14 S&P 500 members reporting results in recent days for their fiscal quarters ending in February. All of these companies with fiscal quarters ending in February, including bellwethers like Oracle, Micron Technology and FedEx, are included in our March-quarter tally.
Total earnings for these 14 index members that have reported results already are up +89.9% from the same period last year on +18.1% higher revenues, with 71.4% beating EPS estimates and 78.6% beating revenue estimates.
For a detailed look at the overall earnings picture, including expectations for the coming periods, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report >>>>Earnings Outlook Improving Despite Iran War
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Oracle's, Micron and FedEx are part of Zacks Earnings Preview
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 30, 2026 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) , Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) , and FedEx (FDX - Free Report) .
The Evolving Earnings Picture Amid Elevated Oil Prices
Uncertainty about oil prices due to the ongoing war is weighing on the market at present. But the associated spike in oil prices has done wonders for the Energy sector's earnings outlook.
The sector no longer enjoys the heft it once enjoyed in broad market indexes like the S&P 500 index – the sector accounted for 4.5% of all S&P 500 earnings in 2025, down from 13% in 2011 – but the steadily improving profitability outlook for the Energy sector is nevertheless adding to the overall favorable aggregate revisions trend.
The Zacks Energy sector is currently expected to enjoy +0.9% earnings growth in 2026 Q1, a material improvement from the -1.9% decline that was expected in early January. For full-year 2026, the expectation today is for +10% earnings growth, up from +5.4% earnings growth expected in early January.
We all intuitively understand that persistently high oil prices are not good for the U.S. economy, as high prices for gasoline, diesel, and other refined petroleum products end up acting as a tax on households. The U.S. economy is primarily consumption-driven, so high oil prices will eventually weigh on consumer spending. Offsetting this equation is the reality that the U.S. is also a major oil producer, one of the largest in the world, and does not need any imported oil.
What I am trying to explain here is that rising oil prices are undoubtedly negative for the U.S. in the financial analysis, as the benefit from improved profitability of the country’s energy-producing assets is offset by reduced consumer spending. But high oil prices are not as negative as they are in many other developed and developing economies that lack domestic oil production. For example, Japan, South Korea, and even Germany and France are entirely dependent on imported oil, and the hit to those economies from high oil prices is significantly more pronounced.
Oil prices in the futures market suggest that market participants don’t expect current supply disruptions to persist beyond the next few weeks. Oil prices will not immediately return to where they were before the start of the conflict, but that is where they will be heading over time once the conflict ends.
The Earnings Big Picture
For 2026 Q1 as a whole, total S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase by +13% from the same period last year on +8.9% higher revenues.
We noted earlier how estimates for the Energy sector have benefited from the ongoing Iran war. But the positive revision trend reflected in the above chart isn’t solely or even mostly due to the Energy sector. Q1 earnings estimates have increased for 7 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of January 2026, including Tech, Construction, Basic Materials, and Energy.
The jump in Energy sector estimates has been the most pronounced since the start of the Iran conflict, but estimates have actually risen for half of the 16 Zacks sectors.
A quick comment on ongoing market volatility in response to developments in the Middle East. Please keep in mind that for these almost upbeat earnings expectations to come true, we need energy markets to stabilize. As noted earlier, an extended period of spiking oil prices has material negative implications for households as well as businesses.
2026 Q1 Earnings Season Scorecard
The 2026 Q1 earnings season will really get underway when JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo come out with their March-quarter results on April 14th. But the reporting cycle has already begun, with 14 S&P 500 members reporting results in recent days for their fiscal quarters ending in February. All of these companies with fiscal quarters ending in February, including bellwethers like Oracle, Micron Technology and FedEx, are included in our March-quarter tally.
Total earnings for these 14 index members that have reported results already are up +89.9% from the same period last year on +18.1% higher revenues, with 71.4% beating EPS estimates and 78.6% beating revenue estimates.
For a detailed look at the overall earnings picture, including expectations for the coming periods, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report >>>>Earnings Outlook Improving Despite Iran War
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
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Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.