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Feb 8, 2021 - Economy

S&P companies overall on pace for positive earnings for first time since 2019

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Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Traders work after the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 15, 2019. Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Fourth-quarter earnings have been far better than expected for S&P 500 companies, with the index overall reporting year-over-year earnings growth of 1.7% as of Friday.

Details: The expected earnings of the index have increased consistently. Analysts had predicted a year-over-year decline in earnings of -2.4% last week and a year-over-year decline in earnings of -9.3% at the end of the fourth quarter, according to FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters.

  • If 1.7% is the actual growth rate for the fourth quarter, it will mark the first time the index has reported year-over-year growth in earnings since the fourth quarter of 2019.
  • So far, 81% of S&P companies have reported a positive EPS surprise for Q4, on pace for the second-highest percentage of positive reporting surprises since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008.
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