Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026 (January, February, and March), according to the second estimate released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2025, real GDP increased 0.5 percent.
The contributors to the increase in real GDP in the first quarter were exports, investment, consumer spending, and government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
Real GDP was revised down 0.4 percentage point from the advance estimate, primarily reflecting downward revisions to investment and consumer spending. For more information, refer to the “Technical Notes” below.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, the acceleration in real GDP in the first quarter of 2026 reflected upturns in government spending and exports and an acceleration in investment that were partly offset by a deceleration in consumer spending. Imports turned up.
Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the sum of consumer spending and gross private fixed investment, increased 2.4 percent in the first quarter, revised down 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate.
The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 3.5 percent in the first quarter, revised down 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 4.5 percent, the same as previously estimated, and the PCE price index excluding food and energy increased 4.4 percent, revised up 0.1 percentage point.
Real gross domestic income (GDI) increased 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with an increase of 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. The average of real GDP and real GDI increased 1.3 percent, compared with an increase of 1.1 percent.
Profits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments) increased $40.4 billion in the first quarter, compared with an increase of $246.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
| Real GDP and Related Measures [Percent Change (SAAR) from 2025:Q4 to 2026:Q1] |
||
|---|---|---|
| Advance Estimate | Second Estimate | |
| Real GDP | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| Current-dollar GDP | 5.6 | 5.1 |
| Real final sales to private domestic purchasers | 2.5 | 2.4 |
| Real GDI | … | 0.9 |
| Average of real GDP and real GDI | … | 1.3 |
| Gross domestic purchases price index | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| PCE price index | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| PCE price index excluding food and energy | 4.3 | 4.4 |
Next release:
June 25, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. EDT
GDP (Third Estimate), Industries, Corporate Profits, State GDP, and State Personal Income,
1st Quarter 2026
Technical Notes
Sources of change for real GDP
Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent (0.4 percent at a quarterly rate 1) in the first quarter, a downward revision of 0.4 percentage point from the previous estimate, primarily reflecting downward revisions to investment and consumer spending.
- Within investment, the revision primarily reflected a downward revision to private nonfarm inventory investment, led by manufacturing and retail trade, based primarily on revised U.S. Census Bureau inventory book value data.
- The revision to consumer spending reflected a downward revision to services that was partly offset by an upward revision to goods. Within services, the largest contributor to the downward revision was health care (outpatient services as well as hospital and nursing home services), based primarily on U.S. Census Bureau Quarterly Services Survey data. Within goods, the upward revision was led by recreational goods and vehicles, other nondurable goods (specifically pharmaceuticals), and food and beverages, based on revised Census Bureau Monthly Retail Trade Survey data for February and March.
More information on the source data and BEA assumptions that underlie the first-quarter estimate is shown in the key source data and assumptions table.
Legal services prices
The PCE price index for legal services was adjusted for the months of January and March. No adjustment was made for February. For more information on why BEA sometimes adjusts source data, refer to the FAQ “Does BEA adjust source data that are used to estimate GDP and related measures?”.
International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refunds
In February 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that certain tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful, and it obligated the federal government to refund affected businesses. The refunds are treated as a capital transfer and do not affect first-quarter GDP. For more information, refer to the FAQ “How are the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refunds reflected in BEA’s National Economic Accounts?”.
Related Data Tables
For the estimates highlighted in this release, as well as historical time series for these estimates, see the following data tables in BEA’s Interactive Data Application .
Table 1.1.1. Percent Change From Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product
Table 1.5.2. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product, Expanded Detail
Table 1.4.1. Percent Change From Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product, Real Gross Domestic Purchases, and Real Final Sales to Domestic Purchasers
Table 1.6.7. Percent Change From Preceding Period in Prices for Gross Domestic Purchases
Table 1.7.1. Percent Change From Preceding Period in Real GDP, Real Gross National Product, and Real Net National Product
Table 6.16D. Corporate Profits by Industry
Note. With the next release of GDP, today’s data will be superseded, and the links above will reflect the latest data. The original data featured in this release can then be accessed in BEA’s Data Archive .
