Summary
We have aggregated data from 20 of Wall Street’s largest firms, and their year-end 2026 S&P 500 (SPX) targets range from a low of 7,000 to a high of 8,100. As such, the most bullish call on the Street is for a very respectable 17% gain from Friday’s close, while the most bearish is forecasting a flat year. The median SPX forecast is 7,700 while the average estimate is 7,635, some 10% to 11%, respectively, above current levels. We recently compiled various technical potential targets, and they ranged from 7,300 to near 7,900. But they were for the highs of 2026 and not for the end of next year. As always, targets are, at best, guesstimates and are subject to change, largely due to price action. Recall that back during the “tariff tantrum” in March and April, many of the 2025 bulls threw in the towel and lowered their 2025 year-end targets — only to raise them back up once the dust settled. Back then, things indeed were looking grim and prices were cascading quickly. So becoming less bullish during that period of huge uncertainty seemed like a logical approach. Looking back, it was all just a massive head fake from the stock market. Currently, we are in the weakest historical period of the presidential cycle