Displaying items by tag: earnings recession

(New York)

The market just hit fresh highs and we are making progress on the trade war; everything is good right? Wrong, says UBS. The bank has just put out an unusually bold warning, saying markets are likely headed for a big decline. Why? Earnings. Earnings growth forecasts for 2020 have tumbled from a peak of 23% to the just 1% now, a huge fall in expectations. That all comes as the growth backdrop for the economy is weakening, and signals that valuation multiples are likely to contract. “Every bear market of the past 50 years has witnessed an actual decline in S&P 500 forward earnings … Ultimately, the most vulnerable macro backdrop for equities occurs when forward earnings growth turns negative as LEIs are trending downward (pushing [price-to-earnings] lower)” says UBS.

FINSUM: An earnings bear market can easily turn into a real bear market, though it doesn’t always happen.

(New York)

Second quarter earnings season is about to begin, and nobody has much expectation for good news. Analysts across the board expect earnings to shrink, brining back the first profit recession since 2016. Materials, technology, and consumer discretionary are set to get hit the hardest, but the majority of sectors are likely to see losses. Analysts estimate the average earnings decline for the S&P 500 will be 2.8%.

FINSUM: It will be interesting to se if this has any effect on stocks. Given it is so telegraphed, we don’t think there will be a big impact unless the losses are much steeper than expected.

(New York)

Charles Schwab, a major conduit for retail investors’ views of the markets, has just come out very bearish. The broker’s chief investment strategist is full of interesting, and bearish insights for 2019. For instance, she explains that earnings growth estimates are far too high (at 6-8%) and that an earnings recession is likely. Schwab expects a rolling bear, if not a full bear market, to continue. The broker pointed out that nearly 50% of S&P 500 stocks are now already in a bear market (down 20% or more).

FINSUM: It is pretty difficult to find reason to be bullish on shares right now. The economy seems to be past peak, an intractable trade war is growing, and a yield inversion is taking shape. That said, the market loves to climb a wall of worry.