Nearly half the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index have reported their third-quarter earnings, and a record 81% have delivered results that are better than expected, says John Butters of Thomson Reuters. If the season ends this way, it'll beat the record set in the third quarter of 2009, when 79% of companies beat expectations.
Companies actually have beaten expectations handily for a while. In fact, three-quarters of companies topped expectations on average the past four quarters, Butters says. But this past quarter was off the charts, considering that 62% of companies historically beat expectations. Just 13% of companies have missed profit forecasts, and 5% have matched them this quarter, Butters says.
"Investors are getting surprised with the strength of corporate earnings," says Michael Farr of Farr Miller & Washington. "It's been great." (more)
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