S&P firms on track to beat expectations
MORE THAN seven in ten companies in the S&P 500 have beaten forecasts with their results so far this earnings season, figures from Thomson Reuters show.
Of the 370 or so firms to have revealed their third-quarter results, 19 per cent have missed forecasts and 11 per cent have matched expectations – but seventy-one per cent have surpassed forecasts.
The best performer so far has been Morgan Stanley, whose earnings per share of $1.14 was 280 per cent above forecasts, the statistics show.
Morgan Stanley also beat revenue predictions by 33 per cent. Goodyear, Allstate Insurance, Motorola and Regions Financial have also beaten consensus forecasts.
At the bottom of the earnings leader board are Amazon, which was 42 per cent below forecasts with earnings per share of $0.14, and Nicor, who missed expectations by 60 per cent.
The best performing sectors so far include technology, where 43 firms have beaten earnings expectations compared with seven that missed, and industrials, where 40 have performed better than expected and six have performed worse, according to separate Bloomberg figures.
Financial firms have been the most difficult to predict in this earnings season, with 43 firms delivering positive surprises and 20 firms disappointing on forecasts.
Companies still to report include KKR, which brings out its results on Friday, and McDonalds and CocaCola Bottling, due on Tuesday.
FAST FACTS | S&P 500 EARNINGS
● The Standard & Poor’s 500 index covers three-quarters of US equities by value
● Seventy one per cent of the results out so far have beaten expectations
● Tech and industry have fared particularly well