Do Earnings Matter?

Per ThomsonReuters, the “forward 4-quarter” earnings estimate for the S&P 500 rose a smidge this week, to $113.32, from last week's $113.22.

The forward P/E ratio with Friday, June 14th’s close is 14.36(x).

The “earnings yield” on the S&P 500 using the forward estimate is 6.97%.

The year-over-year growth of the forward estimate is now 4.82%, and moving higher once again.

The current full-year 2013 consensus earnings growth estimate for the S&P 500 is 7.5%, which at its current value of roughly 1,600, leaves the S&P 500 fairly valued on a P/E.-to-growth basis of 2(x).

Do earnings and earnings growth matter?

ISI’s Dennis Bebusschere published an article (ISI Portfolio Strategy, Early Thought, Thursday, June 13, 2013) this past week showing no correlation between historical S&P 500 earnings growth and S&P 500 returns. That was somewhat of a shock to read, and negates the need for an earnings-related blog (such as this one). Dennis concludes that “EPS growth is an important part of equity returns, but it is only one piece of the equation.”

Both Dennis and Jim Tanious of JP Morgan think that this latest bull market is all about P/E expansion since Dennis says that “the latest run in equities is all about normalizing multiples than earnings growth. In fact, without multiple expansion, the S&P 500 would be roughly 400 points lower today.”

ISI concludes that valuations are still reasonable, and that “earnings growth, though clearly not the main driver of returns, has been supportive of the market.”

Jim Tanious of JP Morgan wrote something similar about a month ago, but basically said that forward returns on the S&P 500 would be from P/E expansion, rather than earnings growth.

My two cents in this discussion is that while both of these guys are far smarter than I am with better access to reams of earnings data which they can sift through statistically, readers should pay close attention to that “forward 4-quarter” estimate we provide every week, and more importantly the “rate of change” of the forward estimate. My own opinion is that this statistic i.e. the FORWARD EARNINGS estimate, carries more freight than we think, very few sources track this stat, and we rarely hear it quoted.

ISI does some great research. We follow Dr. Mark Schoenebaum’s work on large-cap pharma, and he is stellar.

Ultimately, I can’t see how earnings and earnings growth don’t matter, but to Dennis’s point, their importance to S&P 500 returns likely varies over long-time periods.

A better question might be, for us navel-gazers, is what causes P/E expansion or contraction ? My impression is that the market P/E expands and contracts when earnings growth accelerates and decelerates. So then,we ask the question again, ”Do earnings matter ?” (I say, “yes, for sure.”)

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Here is one of ourchart from Gary Morrow, TheStreet.com, Deere (DE). This could be another “return-of-global-growth” play, like Caterpillar (CAT). No positions yet in DE, small long in CAT.

Summary:
The S&P 500 continues to sit above its 50 day moving average and the early June lows at 1,600. It sure looks like we had a double-bottom in the S&P 500 this past week, but time will tell.

My own technical analysis tells me that if we take out 1,600 to the downside, then the October ’07 highs near 1,575 – 1,577 will be a very important level. The election, Fiscal Cliff Sequester – all that is now gone from the anxiety tree. The end of 2013 could be very good.

Strategic: In equities, remain overweight equities when allowing for the standard 60% /40% stock bond portfolio. Client portfolios vary by client- given differences, etc. but most are overweight equities with a 65% or 70% allocation, with the difference being fixed income. We are out of gold, and have been for some time.

Tactical: we are overweight financials, technology and industrials as we await the return-to-global-growth to play out. We own no telco or utilities, no REITs and sold our homebuilders. All large-cap exposure. Very little mid and small-cap exposure.

Tactically in fixed income we are overweight credit risk, and like everybody else have shortened duration. Client accounts now hold anywhere from a 10% to 30% position in the unlevered Inverse Treasury (TBF).

What makes me very nervous about our short Treasury position is that so many have been so right, at the same time, about calling the top in Treasuries. Bill Gross, and even a couple of clients, thought we had topped in May. Everyone is bearish, except Gundlach and he is only mildly bullish. All that one-sided sentiment makes me nervous, and might actually delay or prolong “The Great Rotation”.

Actually, the iShares Core Total US Bond Market Fund (AGG), Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and the high yield ETFs look ready for a bounce. We might add for a trade.

One last thought: Doug Kass (in the last few years), the legendary hedge-fund manager and blogger at TheStreet.com, has used the famous saying by Hyman Roth from Godfather II, “This is the business we’ve chosen” to help articulate the struggles of being an investment advisor for sometimes hot-tempered clients, and to help rationalize frustrating markets. It was March, 2002, and it was nearing the final phase of the technology and large-cap growth bear market, and I was driving down to the Southwest Burb’s of Chicago to see my Mom in the nursing home, as she had just been moved into hospice.

My Mom endured a 10-year battle with Alzhemier's and that weekend was particularly tough for reasons I won’t get into on this site. During the car-ride south, as the family was summoned to the nursing home, I got a call from an irate client who just reamed me a new one through the phone, and went on and on, and two hours later my Mom died. Now, I drove back to the office after leaving the nursing home, and wasn’t feeling good about the last two years anyway, and while sitting at my desk alone late in the day, I thought “If this person were put in front of me right now, I think I’d beat ‘em into a coma.”

However, the very next thought, deep from the wisdom of ages, was “This is the business you are in – if you don’t like it when client’s get angry, find another business.”

Nothing was ever said about this to the client, but they stayed on for years, although eventually leaving, and in fact it became a good relationship and friendship.

I hear and read investors complain all the time about clients: sure, there are instances when you probably need to sever a relationship, but ultimately “This is the business we’ve chosen”. Handle the emotion or sell cars.

Written By: Brian Gilmartin