Post Earnings Season Stats Relatively Healthy
The third quarter earnings reporting period that spanned from early October through mid-November was a rough one for investors. The broad market struggled quite a bit during this period, and the actual earnings reports coming from corporate America were weaker relative to recent quarters. Since the unofficial earnings season ended with Wal-Mart’s (WMT) report on November 15th, though, earnings have been coming in a little better. Just over 100 companies have reported since the 15th, and below are a few stats worth highlighting.
The first chart below shows the percentage of companies that beat consensus EPS estimates during the Q3 earnings season and since the season ended. As shown, the EPS beat rate since earnings season ended stands at 70%, which is 5.5 percentage points higher than the beat rate seen during the Q3 earnings season.
Top-line beat rates have also improved a bit. During earnings season, only 57.6% of companies beat revenue estimates, while the beat rate stands at 62% for companies that have reported since then.
Finally, stock prices are reacting much more positively to earnings reports as well. During earnings season, the average stock that reported fell 0.14% on its earnings reaction day (the first trading day following the earnings release). Since earnings season ended, the 100+ companies that have reported have averaged a one-day gain of 1.68% in response to earnings.
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