Growth in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2025 was even stronger than initially estimated, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday.
BEA’s final inflation-adjusted number for the period shows that GDP grew at a 4.4% annual rate, an improvement from its previous estimate of 4.3% and well above the 3.8% increase recorded the previous quarter.
“That figure topped the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who had estimated 3.3% GDP growth in the third quarter. It was also the fastest growth rate in two years,” Fox Business reports.
“Q3 GDP was revised up yet again — a final read of 4.4%. And Q4 looks even better, with the Atlanta Fed predicting 5.4% growth,” the White House Rapid Response team cheered in a social media post reacting to the news.
The economy was “on a firm footing heading into the end of last year,” Chief U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics Michael Pearce noted.
Q3 GDP was revised up yet again — a final read of 4.4%.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 22, 2026
And Q4 looks even better, with the Atlanta Fed predicting 5.4% growth. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/dg1rtQHEOz
The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected increases in consumer spending (+3.5%), exports, government spending, and investment, the BEA explained. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased. Within exports, the upward revision was primarily due to goods (led by capital goods, except automotive; industrial supplies and materials; and foods, feeds, and beverages).
Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the sum of consumer spending and gross private fixed investment, increased 2.9% in the third quarter, a downward revision of 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate, according to the final report.
Meanwhile, the third quarter growth estimates for the price index for gross domestic purchases (+3.4%), the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index (+2.8 percent) and the PCE price index excluding the volatile food and energy components (+2.9 percent) were all unchanged in the final report.
