Goldman Sachs Doubles Down on S&P 500 Target of 8,000 After AI-Driven Rally

The S&P 500 closed at 7,519.12 on May 26 as Wall Street firms escalated bullish forecasts through May 28. The surge began May 20 when Lazard called the U.S. economy a "levered bet on AI," followed by UBS lifting its 2026 target to 7,900 and EPS to $335 on May 22. CIBC raised its target to 8,020 while Evercore assigned a 30% probability of reaching 9,000. Goldman Sachs capped the period on May 27 by hiking its year-end forecast to 8,000 from 7,600 on 24% EPS growth, with roughly half the revisions concentrated in semiconductors and data centers, and reiterated the call on May 28.