(New York)

Earnings recessions don’t always hurt that much, but they don’t help. Just look at the 2015-2016 period, when earnings didn’t perform well. Markets didn’t lose much, but they were mostly flat. Now we are re-entering that paradigm, as many companies are cutting earnings and it looks like the first earnings recession in three years is coming. Earnings are very likely to fall in the second quarter, with average analyst estimates calling for a nearly 3% decline across the board. So far, 20 of the S&P 500’s companies have reported and the average earnings fall has been 15%.

FINSUM: A bigger than expected decline in earnings could seriously change the risk-reward outlook of markets. This seems like an important risk right now.