After a week of record-setting momentum, U.S. stocks extended their gains on Friday as earnings results continued to reinforce expectations for stronger company profits at the start of 2026. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to its latest all-time high and finished a fifth straight winning week, its longest such streak since 2024. The Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to a record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152 points, or 0.3%.
Apple’s results helped lead the day, with the company’s stock up 3.3% after it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Because Apple is one of the largest stocks by overall size, its rally provided the biggest lift for the S&P 500. The broader market backdrop also reflected a pattern of companies beating forecasts early in the quarter.
FactSet data cited in the report showed that a little more than a quarter of S&P 500 companies had reported by Friday, and that 84% of those had topped analysts’ estimates. The report also said the index was on track to deliver roughly 15% growth in profit from a year earlier.
Other major companies also supported the advance. Estée Lauder’s stock rose 3.4% after the company reported better earnings than expected, with part of the strength attributed to China, and it raised some of its upcoming financial forecasts. Sandisk jumped 8.3% after the storage maker beat analysts’ expectations for profit, helped by demand from data centers, and Colgate-Palmolive added 2.2% after posting results above expectations. Colgate-Palmolive CEO Noel Wallace said it expects “volatile macroeconomic conditions and slower category growth to continue in 2026.”
Oil prices remained a key swing factor for markets as investors weighed how long disruptions linked to the war in Iran could affect global crude supplies. Early in the week, oil prices spurted higher on worries that the war would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed for a long time, potentially leaving oil tankers in the Persian Gulf rather than delivering crude worldwide. But the report said those market moves had reversed quickly at various points during the war as expectations shifted about whether the strait might reopen.
On Friday, that volatility tilted toward easing, with Brent crude down 2% to settle at $108.17. The report said Brent had been selling for a little more than $70 per barrel before the war began. Still, even with oil easing, the report noted that shares of some large oil companies fell: Exxon Mobil dropped 1% and Chevron fell 1.4%, with both reporting net income declines from a year earlier.
The decline in oil prices also helped temper the bond market, with the Treasury yield on the 10-year note falling to 4.38% from 4.40% late Thursday. The report also pointed to a morning release that said growth in U.S. manufacturing was a touch softer than economists expected, which added to the easing in yields. Such changes can influence borrowing costs for U.S. households and businesses, and they often feed through to stock valuations.
Global trading was uneven because many markets were closed for May Day. Among the indexes that were open, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%.