Profits Beat Highest Bar in Years Yet Traders Remain Unenthused

EarningsMacro

โดย Bloomberg·Read original

Summary · why it matters

Corporate earnings strong enough to beat the highest expectations in years have failed to impress investors fretting about AI spending and economic growth. About 85% of the S&P 500 Index constituents that have reported so far have exceeded profit estimates, the highest proportion in five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence, yet the median stock has been unable to outperform the benchmark on the day after results. In Europe, shares of companies delivering only modestly better-than-expected earnings have gone unrewarded on average, while misses are being punished, with stocks modestly falling short of estimates underperforming by an above-average 4.7 percentage points, Morgan Stanley figures show. Analysts estimated a 23% surge in S&P 500 earnings for the second quarter, among the best readings on record, and European profits were set to show the strongest growth in three years, but with benchmark indexes in both regions scaling records shortly before the reporting period began, some market participants said a lot of the good news was already priced in. The S&P 500 has declined about 1.4% since the big US banks kicked off the earnings season last week, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index is practically unchanged, and renewed tensions between the US and Iran have sent oil prices surging again, stirring worries about inflation and the outlook for economic growth.