S&P 500 companies' quarterly earnings and revenue growth accelerated, compared with figures from a week ago, with the bottom-line remaining well ahead of Wall Street's expectations as the reporting season approaches its close, Oppenheimer Asset Management said Tuesday.
Some 95% of companies in the benchmark equity index have reported results in the latest cycle, with earnings up about 28% from a year earlier and revenue rising 11.1%. Last week's report by the brokerage showed profit and sales growth at 25% and 10.5%, respectively, based on financials reported by 91% of the index constituents.
Ahead of the earnings season, FactSet put expected earnings growth at 12.6% year over year, Oppenheimer said.
"The (first-quarter) earnings season rolled on, with many firms reporting strong results and positive guidance," Oppenheimer Asset Management Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus said in a note to clients. "Bears, skeptics, and nervous investors have been able to take some profits without (the fear of missing out) within what appears to us a bull market that persists having legs to run further."
Among sectors, technology and communication services outperformed in terms of earnings, with profits up by about 50% and 47% from a year earlier, respectively. Healthcare was the sole decliner, showing bottom-line down 3.1%.
Tech also led the chart for revenue growth, with a 29% jump from a year earlier, followed by utilities' 14.1% gain. All 11 S&P sectors saw sales growth on an annual basis, the report showed.
Costco Wholesale (COST), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Salesforce (CRM), and Dell Technologies (DELL) are some of the major companies slated to report this week.
"With (the first-quarter) earnings season winding down, increased attention will be focused on developments to finding resolution to the (US/Israel) conflict with Iran and the economic disruption that it brought," Stoltzfus said Tuesday.
Iran's army said it has a "legitimate" right to respond to any violation of a ceasefire after the US military conducted strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the crucial Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported. The two countries are in a fragile ceasefire and have yet to agree to a permanent framework to end their war, which started at the end of February.
Price: $1001.60, Change: $-26.64, Percent Change: -2.59%



