Corporate earnings forecasts have exceeded Wall Street expectations to an unusual degree ahead of this earnings season, MarketWatch reported. FactSet's report on Friday showed that among the 114 S&P 500 companies that have issued third-quarter EPS outlooks, 72 have surpassed expectations, significantly higher than the five-year average of 43 companies. The Information Technology sector has been particularly prominent in issuing optimistic earnings outlooks, with analysis suggesting that artificial intelligence is the main driver behind this phenomenon.