Catenaa, Sunday, March 01, 2026- While profits boomed in the US, the rest of the world wasn’t shabby either, undergirding calls to diversify away from American stocks into megacaps in Asia and Europe.

Though the US delivered a solid quarter, the results were mixed and, in many cases, received poorly amid worries that growth rates might have peaked.

Asia’s behemoths continued to benefit from their key role in the artificial intelligence buildout, while European consumer companies remained under pressure.

Industrial and financial firms on the continent delivered strong results thanks to rising federal outlays.

Below is a round up of the key themes, along with the winners and losers. First, though, some key numbers. Profit growth in the US and Europe handily topped expectations.

S&P 500 companies boosted earnings by 13%, some five percentage points ahead of forecasts. European large caps grew profits 4.5%, three times the anticipated rate.

Less rosy was the number of companies that contributed to beats. Barely three-quarters of companies in the S&P 500 outdid forecasts, the fewest in three years and down from 82% last quarter, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence tracker.

In Europe, 47% of companies in the MSCI Europe overperformed, well below the 54% average of the past five years.

Forecasts for the rest of the year also underwhelmed, leading to some sharp selloffs at companies that otherwise delivered on the bottom line. US stock performance in the period was unusually muted, while Europe and Asia rallied.

Granted, the season was disturbed by a scare around artificial intelligence disruption, hitting the software sector in particular. Still, the S&P 500 fell over the six weeks.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose nearly 4% over the same period and the MSCI Asia Pacific soared 11%.