• Earnings Scorecard: For Q4 2017 (with 68% of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting actual results for the quarter), 74% of S&P 500 companies have reported positive EPS surprises and 79% have reported positive sales surprises. If 79% is the final number for the quarter, it will mark the highest percentage since FactSet began tracking this metric in Q3 2008.
• Earnings Growth: For Q4 2017, the blended earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 is 14.0%. All eleven sectors are reporting earnings growth for the quarter, led by the Energy sector.
• Earnings Revisions: On December 31, the estimated earnings growth rate for Q4 2017 was 11.0%. Eight sectors have higher growth rates today (compared to December 31) due to upward revisions to estimates and positive earnings surprises.
• Earnings Guidance: For Q1 2018, 33 S&P 500 companies have issued negative EPS guidance and 32 S&P 500 companies have issued positive EPS guidance.
• Valuation: The forward 12-month P/E ratio for the S&P 500 is 16.3. This P/E ratio is above the 5-year average (16.0) and above the 10-year average (14.3).
