‘They Don’t Know What to Say’: Company Earnings Add to Confusion
- One week into earnings season, corporate guidance is vanishing
- Analyst estimate dispersion remains near a record high
Photographer: Chuanchai Pundej/EyeEm via Getty Images
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Earnings season is supposed to be a time of clarity, giving investors a detailed look into the health of corporations and a chance to hear from executives about what’s to come. Not this time around.
One week in, and the only thing that’s clear is that no one feels confident making profit or sales forecasts for coming months. Analyst earnings estimates, already all over the map in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, remain incredibly inconsistent, with gaps between the highest and lowest among individual stocks holding near records.