Government revises down first quarter GDP increase

The United States’ real gross domestic product, or GDP, increased by only 1.6% during the first quarter of 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. That’s in contrast to the bureau’s initial estimate last month that put GDP growth at 2.0% during the first quarter of this year. During the last quarter of 2025, the GDP increased by 0.5%.

What led to the increase in GDP compared to the last quarter? Increases in government spending, exports, and corporate investing from the last quarter of 2025 primarily fueled the climb in GDP, the BEA said. But increasing imports and downward revisions to consumer spending totals did push back somewhat.

So are people making more money? Real gross domestic income increased by only 0.9% in the first quarter of 2026, the BEA said. That’s down from a 1.6% increase in the last quarter of 2025. Adjusted corporate profits increased by only $40.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, compared with a $246.9 billion increase in the last quarter of last year.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher and David Bahnsen’s latest Monday Moneybeat discussion on The World and Everything in It podcast.