Economics
Wall Street Gloom Is at Odds With Profit Gains
- S&P profit rises 1.2 percent outside energy's `black hole'
- Market pessimism is obscuring some companies' improved results
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Vulcan Materials Co.’s profit doubled in the fourth quarter and is forecast to expand 50 percent this year. Still, the construction-materials company’s shares have fallen 6.1 percent in three months.
Welcome to the first earnings-report cycle in 2016, where the steep oil-price drop that’s pummeling energy companies has triggered broader Wall Street pessimism and obscured decent results from companies like Vulcan. As a whole, earnings in the Standard & Poor’s 500 are on pace for the biggest quarterly decline since 2009. But strip out the energy-sensitive industries and most companies are reporting profit gains.