Q2 earnings season begins in mid-July. Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist Ben Snider, in a note published June 28, called it "a critical test" for U.S. stocks. The word choice was deliberate. The market's 2026 gains have come almost entirely from earnings growth rather than investors paying higher prices for the same profits. If earnings disappoint, the structure of the rally faces its most serious challenge of the year.