S&P 500 earnings rise 12.9% in Q2 2024

Combined second-quarter normalized earnings per share for the S&P 500 rose nearly 13% year over year as most of the large-cap index's constituent sectors also reported earnings growth, according to the latest S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

As of Sept. 10, all S&P 500 sectors except industrials, materials and real estate reported earnings growth. The communication services sector reported the largest EPS growth among sectors.

– Download the charts in Excel format.

Large, midsize S&P 500 companies

Among the largest S&P 500 companies — those with over $100 billion in market capitalization as of June 28 — Prologis Inc. reported the widest earnings beat, with its normalized EPS of 92 cents 54.2% higher than the consensus estimate of 60 cents.

The Allstate Corp., meanwhile, reported the widest earnings beat among S&P 500 companies valued between $30 billion and $100 billion in market capitalization.

Smaller companies

On the smaller end of the index, Carnival Corp. & PLC reported the largest earnings beat among companies valued at less than $30 billion at the end of the second quarter. The cruise operator reported normalized EPS of 11 cents, a surprise to analysts who expected a 2-cent-per-share loss, as the company took advantage of resurgent cruise bookings and higher prices.

Paramount Global reported the second-largest beat among smaller companies. The results excluded a nearly $6 billion impairment charge as the company wrote down the value of some of its cable TV networks.

Biggest beats, misses

Carnival Corp., Allstate and Paramount also reported the largest earnings beats among S&P 500 companies during the quarter.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., meanwhile, reported the widest earnings miss among the S&P 500. The media company's normalized loss of 18 cents per share surprised analysts, who expected slightly positive earnings. As with Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery booked a large write-down on the value of some of its TV networks, which was excluded from normalized results.

Likewise, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and Incyte Corp. reported unexpected losses per share in normalized results, taking the second and third widest earnings misses against analysts' expectations, respectively.