Ever since the stock market bottomed in 2009 during the financial crisis, people have been coming up with reasons why the bull market was about to end. We heard every reason – Brexit, the end of Quantitative Easing, too much debt, COVID, etc. – and while we understood each may be a cause for consternation, we focused on valuations, which suggested the bull market would continue. Over time, math wins. After the recovery in stocks from the 2020 lockdowns (and especially the latest surge in eq… View More
February 2021
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Fourth quarter 2020 earnings and revenue growth both surprised with positive results. With more than 75% of companies reporting, earnings growth is expected to be 3.4%. This is a significant increase compared to the -1.03% originally estimated on January 1st and further improvement from last week’s 2.4%. Revenue growth is also expected to be positive at 1.3%, up from -1.4% at the start of the year. In aggregate, companies are reporting earnings that are more than 17% above estimates, outpacin… View More
While higher commodity costs could challenge the industrials sector, it could also significantly boost earnings per share (EPS) for the energy sector. From 1995 to 2015, energy contributed approximately 12% to the overall index EPS while over the last 12 months, it has detracted about -7%. A return to profitably for the energy sector may be the key for index EPS to surprise to the upside in 2021 and 2022. By the end of 2021, current estimates are only suggesting a 2% contribution to overall earn… View More
With just less than 40% of S&P 500 companies reporting for the 4Q earnings season, results continue to come in quite strong. Estimated sales growth flipped positive for the overall index, and earnings growth is now estimated to be down only -1.6% led by the Technology and Financial sectors. The energy and industrial sectors continue to be the biggest laggards. Greater than 80% of companies are beating estimates for the 3rd quarter in a row, more than 80% of companies reporting have beaten ea… View More