As the earnings season approaches, analysts are projecting a consensus growth of 11.7% in Q4 earnings per share (EPS) for S&P 500 companies. The so-called 'Magnificent Seven' (Mag 7) stocks are expected to lead this growth with an EPS increase of 22%, while the remaining 493 companies in the index are forecasted to see an 8.7% rise. WisdomTree's Global CIO, Jeremy Schwartz, indicates that overall earnings growth expectations are around 16%-17%. In the financial sector, four out of five industries are anticipated to report double-digit earnings growth, primarily driven by the banks industry. However, Goldman Sachs predicts that the EPS growth premium for the Mag 7 will decrease from 30 percentage points in 2024 to 7 percentage points in 2025, with their outperformance against the S&P 493 narrowing significantly from 63 percentage points in 2023 to approximately 7 percentage points in 2025. Additionally, companies outside the major tech players are expected to report a third consecutive quarter of earnings growth, with profits projected to rise by 4% and potentially reach double-digit increases by early 2025. To meet the optimistic forecasts for accelerating earnings growth in the second half of 2025, S&P 500 companies need to demonstrate a 5% upside to analysts’ Q4 2024 estimates.