Economics
Bottom Line for S&P 500 Is Top Line as Price-Sales Expands
The quirk, which follows six years in which U.S. companies struggled to boost revenue even as cost-cutting and buybacks caused earnings to double, illustrates one of the biggest obstacles to extending the bull market in 2015.
Photographer: Jin Lee/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The bottom line for this bull market may turn out to be the top line.
After a six-year run in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, corporate revenue, not corporate profits, is flashing red. Judged against sales, the index has reached a level not seen since the aftermath of the Internet bubble.