Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Corporate-Earnings Forecasts Warn of Dangers Ahead

Earnings season is wrapping up, and second-quarter revenue and profits haven't seriously rattled nerves. Forecasts for the third quarter, however, have fueled fears of a slowing economy.

With about 85 percent of the companies on the broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index reporting, 51 percent have exceeded net-profit expectations, while 40 percent have beaten on revenue, according to CNBC.

Looking forward, 50 percent of those companies have cut third-quarter estimates, while only 21 percent have raised. That's prompting analysts to slash their forecasts for broader S&P 1500 companies for the quarter on fears the economy is cooling.

"We think the downward revision cycle has further room to run, and management guidance has similarly gotten more cautious with twice as many companies now guiding down as up," Savita Subramanian, equity and quant strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a research note, CNBC added.

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