From Nasdaq:

Q4 earnings for the S&P 500 index are expected to be down -0.4% from the year-earlier level on +2.2% higher revenues. Half of the 16 Zacks sectors are expected to have earnings above the year-earlier level, with solid growth in the Technology, Retail, Consumer Discretionary, and Utilities sectors.

For the 21 S&P 500 members reporting, total earnings are up +9.0% from last year on +4.8% higher revenues. 90.5% are beating EPS estimates and 52.4% are beating revenue estimates. Q4 estimates have been coming down and have been cut for estimates for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors.

Earnings estimates for Q4 have been raised for five sectors since the quarter started, including the Utilities, Industrial Products, Autos, Finance, and Energy sectors. Q4 estimates for the Finance sector, which dominates the Q4 reporting cycle, have enjoyed a modest upgrade.

Full-year 2024 estimates also came under pressure as the last quarter of the year got underway. Earnings picture is expected to steadily improve over the next few quarters, and there is no recession in this outlook. The U.S. economy’s growth trajectory is expected to moderate due to Fed tightening.

The report also discusses expert’s distillation of 7 elite stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.0% per year. The list offers recommendations from Zacks Investment Research.



Read more: Q4 Earnings Season Gets Underway