The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated. That was slower than the 2.1 percent rate recorded for the first quarter, although the details showed stronger growth in consumer spending and private fixed investment taken together.
Quarterly GDP rates are commonly reported at an annual rate, which shows how much the economy would grow if the quarter's pace continued for a full year. The direct change from the first quarter to the second was approximately 0.4 percent.
Consumer spending, investment and exports contributed to the increase in real GDP. Government spending decreased, while imports—which are subtracted when GDP is calculated—rose. Compared with the first quarter, growth slowed because government spending turned down and investment and export growth decelerated. Faster consumer spending partly offset those changes.
Real final sales to private domestic purchasers increased at a 3.9 percent annual rate, up from 1.7 percent in the first quarter. This measure combines consumer spending and gross private fixed investment while excluding inventories, trade and government. It can help separate underlying private domestic demand from components that often make quarterly GDP more volatile.
Price measures remained elevated. The gross-domestic-purchases price index increased at a 5.7 percent annual rate, compared with 3.6 percent in the first quarter. The overall personal-consumption-expenditures price index rose at a 5.1 percent rate, while the measure excluding food and energy increased 3.4 percent.
This was an advance estimate built partly from incomplete source data and agency assumptions for information not yet available. It should therefore be read as an initial measurement rather than a final count. BEA is scheduled to publish its second estimate, along with an initial estimate of second-quarter corporate profits, on August 26.