Q4 Earnings Season: Revenues On The Weak Side

 | Jan 21, 2015 06:13AM ET

The picture emerging from the 2014 Q4 earnings season at this admittedly early stage is one of weakness, with earnings and revenue growth rates tracking below levels that we have been seeing in other recent periods. But weak results from the Finance sector has an outsized effect on the aggregate earnings picture results at this stage. We don’t have as representative a sample of results outside of the Finance sector, but the picture isn’t that bad once Finance is excluded from the aggregate picture. That said, revenues are on the weak side, whether looked at with or without the Finance sector.

The rest of this week is the busiest of this reporting cycle thus far, with 37 S&P 500 members reporting Q4 results in the next three days. The reporting cycle really accelerates next week, with more than 140 S&P 500 members coming out with results. This week’s reporting docket is comprised of a diverse group of operators, ranging from General Electric (NYSE:GE- Analyst Report ).

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The Q4 Scorecard (as of 1/20/2015)/h3


We have seen Q4 results from 52 S&P 500 members that combined account for 16.3% of the index’s total market capitalization. Total earnings for these companies are down -0.2% from the same period last year, with 73.1% beating EPS estimates. Total revenues are up +0.9% from the same period last year and 42.3% of them are coming ahead with top-line estimates.

The table below shows the current scorecard for the S&P 500 index