Over 60% of companies that reported earnings this week beat EPS and revenue estimates – Earnings Scorecard
Wall Street’s bull run continued this week, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 touching fresh record highs. The Dow closed at a record high, on Thursday, while the S&P 500 neared the 6000 mark.
All three major indexes were set to log their sixth consecutive week of gains after a week marked by upbeat earnings from financial companies and largely positive economic data. About 65% of S&P 500 companies that reported earnings this week, beat both EPS and revenue estimates.
Among the major sectors which reported results this week, the Financial sector outshone others with a scorecard largely in green. In the healthcare sector, 4 out of 5 companies topped estimates. Video streaming platform Netflix (NFLX) also had positive results to show, propping up the Communication Services sector. Meanwhile, among companies in the Industrial sector, 3 out of the 5 names missed estimates.
Among the Financial sector, all major banks, such as Citigroup (C) , Goldman Sachs (GS) Bank of America (BAC), and Morgan Stanley (MS) beat both revenue and EPS estimates. However, regional banks such as KeyCorp (KEY), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), and U.S. Bancorp (USB) missed estimates on either or both of the fronts.
Citigroup (C) ‘s Q3 earnings topped the Wall Street consensus, helped by lower expenses, and the company expects to reach its full-year revenue and expense targets. The company reaffirmed its full-year revenue at ~$80B-$81B vs. $80.4B consensus estimate.
Goldman Sachs (GS) Q3 earnings beat the Wall Street consensus by a wide margin as its net interest income increased. Q3 net interest income of $2.62B, beat the Visible Alpha consensus of $1.95B.
Meanwhile, regional bank, KeyCorp (KEY) turned in a bottom-line loss due to losses on sales of securities in its portfolio repositioning in Q3 2024.
Streaming service giant, Netflix (NFLX), on the other hand, propped up the Communications sector with its earnings topping Wall Street’s expectations. The company’s revenues grew 15% year-over-year, to $9.82B, and the company said it expected 15% growth for 2024 after similar expectations for the fourth quarter.
After some concerns in 2022 about membership growth topping out, the company has moved into a steady period of double-digit growth of users — and this quarter, it again topped expectations, adding 5.07M global paid net members.
The healthcare sector also delivered some big wins with companies such as UnitedHealth (UNH), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) beating both revenue and EPS estimates.
However, shares of Elevance Health (ELV) fell 12% Thursday morning after the health insurer lowered its forecast for full-year adjusted earnings amid higher-than-expected medical expenses in the third quarter.
The Industrial sector had a downbeat show compared to the other sectors this quarter with companies like CSX Corporation (CSX), Equifax (EFX), and Snap-On (SNA) missing revenue estimates. The sector was saved by positive earnings growth from United Airlines (UAL), and J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT).
For the upcoming week, more than 100 S&P 500 names are scheduled to report results, with major companies such as 3M (MMM), A.O. Smith (AOS), Lockheed Martin (LMT), and Philip Morris (PM) set to report on Tuesday. Wednesday is expected to include industry giants like Boeing (BA), Tesla (TSLA), General Dynamics (GD), and Coca-Cola (KO). Thursday would see Hasbro (HAS), Honeywell (HON), L3Harris (LHX), and Southwest Airlines (LUV) put out their earnings.