The year 2026 has been a wild year for investors. And the year isn’t even half-way over. Gold and silver went parabolic, then crashed. Long-term interest rates have risen as inflation has persisted for longer than many consumers would prefer. Bitcoin experienced its own crash and since recovered. Gas prices at the pump shot up in the aftermath of military conflict in Iran, with no resolution in-hand. Every white-collar worker has ongoing fears about how A.I. may ruin their careers. And the political divide seems to only be getting worse heading into the 2026 mid-term elections.
Through all of this, stocks recovered from a large sell-off and have just recently hit all-time highs. The S&P 500 was last seen at 7,138.84 and stocks may still have a lot more upside over the rest of 2026.
Gains are rarely seen in a straight line up, and investing in the stock market comes with absolutely no guarantees for more gains ahead. Please do not ever forget those two key points.
Investors who freaked out over the daily headlines simply found too many reasons to sit on the sidelines or make excuses why they didn’t participate in the great wealth creation engine of the stock market. The 4% gain of the S&P 500 seen so far in 2026 may not even be half of the gains that Wall Street analysts and strategists were predicting this year.
The S&P 500 closed out 2025 at 6,845.50 and the benchmark index valued at 7,138.84 as of April 28, 2026. And as the informercials might say — “But wait, there’s more!”
At the end of 2025, Wall Street was predicting that the S&P 500 would rise about 10% in 2026. Oggonomics tracked 11 major firms in December-2025 that made up that consensus. While some firms have since updated their S&P 500 price targets, some forecasters were looking for even more than just 10% upside.
Again, the S&P 500 was last seen at 7,138.84. Now check out what Wall Street strategists were forecasting for the S&P 500 in 2026 as of December-2025:
- Barclays 7,400 (now 7,650)
- Bank of America 7,100
- BNP Paribas 7,500
- Deutsche Bank 8,000
- HSBC 7,500
- JPMorgan 7,500 (now 7,600)
- Goldman Sachs 7,600
- Morgan Stanley 7,800
- RBC Capital Markets 7,750
- UBS 7,500
- Wells Fargo 7,800 (now 7,400-7,800)
The implied consensus (mean) was 7,586 for the S&P 500 at the start of 2026. Again, the S&P 500 was at 7,138.84 on last look — implying another 400 points or so of upside. Just do not forget the warnings already cited above — Gains are rarely seen in a straight line up, and investing in the stock market comes with absolutely no guarantees for more gains ahead.
Time has proven over and over that economic uncertainty and geopolitical uncertainty do not kill bull markets. Bull markets turn into bear markets because uncertainty actually manifests into certain negative outcomes. Sometimes those events are seen in advance. Sometimes they occur in an instant shock. Have you ever heard the phrase “bull markets climb a wall of uncertainty” before?
DISCLAIMER
Oggonomics pulled each strategist call by each firm’s forecast by name. Those targets and views may adjust further based on market and economic conditions and expectations. Each investor is responsible for their own decisions to buy or sell securities and those decisions should be made with the help of a financial advisor.
