Anything-But-Soft Earnings Data Starting to Smack of Rally Years
- S&P 500 EPS growth seen topping 10% for first time since 2013
- Such rate has accompanied stock gains averaging 12% since 1988
UBS’s Smiles on Market Impact From Geopolitics, ECB
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Could this be the restoration of the profit growth that drove the bull market’s fattest years? Signs from the first quarter point to yes.
Among the spate of bullish trends visible after three weeks of earnings reports: analysts, who almost always cut full-year estimates in April, are now raising them, pushing forecasts for S&P 500 operating income above 11 percent. While guaranteeing nothing, U.S. stocks have returned almost twice as much in years when income rises by double-digit percentages.