Bank of America has a surprising ‘strong’ call on the 2026 economy

Those macro assumptions feed directly into how the bank thinks markets behave. In U.S. equities, its strategists project roughly 14% earnings‑per‑share growth for S&P 500 companies in 2026 but only 4–5% upside in the index level, targeting a year‑end S&P 500 around 7,100. That combination (strong earnings, modest index gains) suggests a world where the economy is doing its job, but valuations are already rich enough that you can’t count on big multiple expansion to juice returns.Bhave’s team doesn’t stop at ...