This brief commentary is an excerpt from a broader cyclical note currently in the works. Published in the interest of the current earnings season.
Earnings for the S&P500 continue on their lackluster trajectory. Aggregate earnings have chopped around for the past 12 weeks, down .54% between October 13, 2023, and January 26, 2024.
For the current reporting period, Q4 of 2024, 25% of S&P500 firms have reported earnings. 69% of those firms have reported earnings beats and 68% have reported a revenue beat. Below are the historical comps.
What is curious is -5.3% number at the bottom left. How can 69% of firms beat earnings estimates, while missing them by -5.3%?