Good morning,
We hope you all enjoyed the holiday weekend. Investors got the chance to recharge for a busy week of earnings, as over 140 S&P 500 companies are set to report in the week ahead. Companies scheduled to report include Halliburton, Lockheed Martin, Amazon,Boeing, Coca-Cola, United Technologies, Microsoft, AT&T, Visa, Facebook, Intel, Starbucks,Caterpillar, 3M, Ford Motor, United Parcel Service, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and Colgate-Palmolive.
Taking a look at results so far, of the 77 companies in the S&P 500 that have already reported for the first quarter of 2019, 77.9% have reported earnings above analyst expectations, which is above the long-term average of 65% and above the average over the past four quarters of 76%, according to I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv – and first quarter earnings are expected to decline 1.7% from the first-quarter of 2018.
Also, in the week ahead, we’ll be getting the initial reading for first-quarter economic growth on Friday when GDP data is scheduled to be released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. First quarter growth, previously expected to be about flat, is now seen at 2.4% according to CNBC/Moody’s Analytics Rapid Update survey of economists.
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have, or if you would like to schedule a meeting.
All the best,
Southport Station Financial Management, LLC