Goldman Sachs strategists led by Ben Snider said US companies are set for another strong earnings season, driven by the AI investment boom and windfall profits for energy companies. Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to surge 22% in the second quarter, a hurdle companies should clear. AI infrastructure stocks are set to contribute nearly 60% of S&P 500 earnings-per-share growth in the quarter, with Micron Technology Inc. and Nvidia Corp. possibly accounting for more than 40%. Higher energy prices will also be a big factor, with oil producers expected to reap profits from the jump in crude prices while consumer companies suffer from cost pressures. For the median S&P 500 company, consensus is for profits to grow by 9%. Bloomberg Intelligence forecasts profits may jump by about 23% in the second quarter, close to the past quarter when first-quarter profits surged almost 30%, more than double the roughly 12% analysts had penciled in. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson said US equity market breadth is improving; RBC Capital Markets’ Lori Calvasina raised the 12-month S&P 500 target to around 8,150, implying gains of about 11%; Unicredit SpA said earnings revisions may moderate but the overall trend is positive.