Group 1 - The recent quarterly results from homebuilder Lennar and restaurant operator Darden Restaurants, along with five other S&P 500 members, are included in the September-quarter tally [1] - Seven additional S&P 500 members, including Costco and Accenture, are set to report results this week, contributing to early Q3 results from nearly two dozen S&P 500 members by October 14 [2] - Q3 earnings for the S&P 500 index are expected to increase by +5.1% year-over-year, with revenues up by +6%, marking the lowest earnings growth since Q3 2023 if actual results align with expectations [3] Group 2 - Since early July, Q3 earnings estimates have risen for 5 of the 16 Zacks sectors, notably in Tech, Finance, and Energy, while the remaining sectors have faced pressure [5] - The Tech sector is projected to show robust growth, with earnings expected to rise by +11.8% and revenues by +12.5%, significantly contributing to the overall S&P 500 earnings growth [9] - Despite positive trends in the Tech sector, estimates for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors have been under pressure, particularly in Medical, Transportation, Basic Materials, and Consumer Staples [6] Group 3 - Accenture is expected to report earnings of $2.98 per share on revenues of $17.3 billion, reflecting year-over-year increases of +6.8% and +5.6% respectively, although estimates have slightly decreased recently [17] - Costco is anticipated to report earnings of $5.81 per share on revenues of $86.14 billion, with year-over-year changes of +12.8% and +8.1%, but has seen a moderately negative revisions trend [19] - Accenture's stock has declined by -32.2% year-to-date, attributed to flat IT spending trends outside of AI and competitive threats from AI disintermediation [16]