Over two-thirds of the 43 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported calendar fourth-quarter 2019 earnings through Jan. 17 surpassed Wall Street's expectations.
Altogether, the companies reported a 4.7% EPS surprise for the fourth quarter, with 17 companies posting double-digit EPS growth year over year.
Of the 11 S&P 500 sectors, five are expected to show year-over-year EPS gains for the calendar fourth quarter, and six are expected to report declines. The utilities and financials sectors are both expected to post the largest gains of 11.7% year over year, while EPS is expected to decline by 40.1% in the energy sector.
On Jan. 14, JPMorgan Chase & Co. disclosed earnings of $2.57 per share, above the consensus estimate of $2.36. Earnings rose by 29.8% year over year, while revenue grew by 8.5% year over year to $28.33 billion, which was above the consensus estimate of $27.69 billion.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported EPS of $4.69, missing the consensus estimate of $5.49. Earnings fell by 2.9% year over year, but total revenue jumped 23.2%.
