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Factoid of the Day Wednesday, August 19, 2026

FactSet reported that the Q2’26 blended net profit margin for the S&P 500 Index (“Index”) stood at 16.9% as of August 7, 2026, up from 12.9% in the year-ago quarter and above the 5-year average of 12.4%. Should this hold, it would mark the Index’s highest net profit margin in FactSet data going back to 2009, surpassing the previous record of 14.8% set last quarter. Notably, the figure is inflated by unrealized investment gains at two Index constituents. Excluding them, the margin falls to 15.0%, which would still be a record.

 

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