Corporate America’s Souring Profit Outlook Clouds Equity Rally
- Guidance trails analysts’ forecasts by most in a year: BI
- Looming trade war, sticky inflation weigh on sentiment
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Beneath a solid fourth-quarter earnings season, there’s a worrisome development that may put a dent in the bull case for US stocks: Corporate America’s profit outlook is souring.
Among companies that have issued guidance for next quarter and beyond, more have provided estimates that trail analysts’ expectations. A gauge of forward earnings that compares companies’ forecasts with analysts’ projections is the lowest in a year after plunging to a level last seen in 2016 earlier this month, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.