CFRA’s Stovall Predicts S&P 500 at 7,730 by Year-End

CFRA chief investment strategist Sam Stovall forecasts the S&P 500 will reach 7,730 by the end of the year, implying roughly 4% upside from current levels. He maintained the target in his latest report and cited momentum that began in late March and accelerated into June.

Through late June the index recorded 24 all-time highs, placing the first half of 2026 among the top 20 strongest opening halves since World War II. The CFRA report noted: “In 2H of these prior top-20 years, the S&P 500 gained an additional 6% and rose in price 80% of the time.”

Energy costs have eased since earlier in the year. West Texas Intermediate crude retreated from above $110 per barrel to around $70, a change CFRA flagged as easing pressure on corporate profit margins and on household spending.

Market leadership broadened in June as capital flowed into previously lagging sectors, including financial services and health care, reducing concentration in mega-cap semiconductor stocks that had driven much of the advance.

Strong earnings from large chipmakers tempered concerns over heavy corporate spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. CFRA noted the S&P 500’s forward price-to-earnings ratio is about 21 times and described the current rise as supported by corporate earnings rather than by multiple expansion alone.

The firm highlighted technology and industrials as likely beneficiaries of continued demand for AI hardware. Industrials have gained about 16.8% year-to-date, led by companies such as Generac, which has more than doubled. Technology has risen more than 25% year-to-date, with SanDisk rallying nearly eightfold. CFRA’s data show Micron, Intel, Western Digital, Seagate, Dell and Marvell have each climbed more than 200% so far this year.

Stovall framed the 7,730 projection as a continuation of the earnings-driven advance, supported by broader market breadth and lower energy costs, and left the target unchanged in his client report.