The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.4% in Q3 2026, its strongest performance in a year, up from 2.2% in Q2 and above market expectations of 3.2%. The largest boost came from private domestic investment, which surged 19.4% (vs 4.6% in Q2), driven by strong spending related to AI. Equipment investment jumped 20.9% (vs 13.4%), led by computers and peripheral equipment; investment in intellectual property products increased 8.4% (vs 9.2%), and structures climbed 5.4% (vs 0.1%).
Personal consumption remained solid, expanding 3.8%, unchanged from Q2. Both goods and services spending contributed, with goods rising 3% (vs 4.5%) and services accelerating to 4.1% (vs 3.4%), particularly in hospital and outpatient care and prescription drugs. Government spending advanced 5.3% (vs -0.1%), supported in part by sales of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Private inventories also contributed positively, adding 1.61 percentage points to growth.
On the downside, residential investment returned to contraction at -3.3%, following a 2.8% increase in Q2. Net trade also dragged on growth, as exports fell 5.7% (vs +5% in Q2) while imports surged 19.7% (vs 12.6%).
