Businesses are pumping out profits
Corporate earnings season is in full swing. Last week alone, 44%* of the companies in the S&P 500 index reported their first-quarter financial results—including five of the closely watched Magnificent Seven group of mega-cap tech firms. And despite uncertainty about war, gas prices, and other issues that have many people feeling nervous, U.S. businesses have continued to do what they do best: Crank out profits.
More than 300 of the S&P 500 companies (67% by market cap) have now reported this earnings season. On average, those companies’ earnings have been a whopping 20.2% higher than Wall Street analysts and investors had expected. While that number could fall somewhat as the remaining companies report, it’s far and away the best quarterly result we’ve seen in the past two years (see the chart).
It’s yet another sign that strong economic tailwinds, such as AI-powered productivity gains and healthy consumer spending supported by strong personal and household finances, continue to outweigh the headwinds from the Iran war.
It’s worth noting that some of that impressive upside surprise we’re seeing has been fueled by one-time or infrequent events. During last week’s reporting frenzy, we learned that Meta got a big boost during the quarter from a one-off tax benefit, while Google and Amazon juiced their earnings growth partly due to investments and currency-related factors.
But overall, companies’ core business fundamentals remain the main driver of a resilient profit boom that’s helping keep the S&P 500 in rally mode.
* By market capitalization
Authored by Mike Dickson, Ph.D.
Originally posted on Horizon Investments
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