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S&P 500 Quarterly Profit Growth Eases Amid Sharp Tech Slowdown, Oppenheimer Says

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S&P 500 Quarterly Profit Growth Eases Amid Sharp Tech Slowdown, Oppenheimer Says

S&P 500 companies' second-quarter earnings growth has eased from a week ago as a sharp slowdown in profits reported by technology firms shadowed outsized gains in energy and consumer discretionary, Oppenheimer Asset Management said in a report Monday.

So far, 306 companies, or 61% of the total, have reported results, with profit growth slowing to 57% from about 70% a week ago. Revenue growth jumped to 15% from nearly 13%.

Earnings growth in the tech sector plunged to 61% from 190% a week ago, Oppenheimer Asset Management Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus said.

Last week, Meta Platforms (META) reported an unexpected annual decline in quarterly net income per share, while Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon.com (AMZN) posted gains.

All 11 sectors reported annual profit growth, with energy and consumer discretionary soaring more than 130% each. Energy overtook tech as the sector with the fastest revenue growth pace, at 39%, while tech revenue expansion slowed to 25% from 45%.

Analysts polled by FactSet projected S&P 500 earnings growth at nearly 24% year over year ahead of the second-quarter reporting season, Oppenheimer said.

Another 138 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report results this week, including Eli Lilly (LLY), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Caterpillar (CAT), and Merck (MRK).

Oil prices declined as President Donald Trump reportedly said Sunday that negotiations with Iran begin Monday. Trump previously called off a planned attack on Iran.

Wall Street's stock market benchmarks closed out July mostly lower.

"A silver lining to the over-hanging clouds of recent volatility has been some further reduction in the forward earnings multiple of the S&P 500," Stoltzfus said.

Price: $1120.72, Change: $-28.12, Percent Change: -2.45%

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