Seventy-two companies in the S&P 500 had reported earnings for the third quarter as of Oct. 18, and of those, 83% beat Wall Street earnings expectations, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's analyst polling.
Collectively, the 72 constituents reported an EPS surprise of 6.0% for the third quarter. Of those, 44.4% reported double-digit-or-better year-over-year growth.
The blended growth rate for the S&P 500, which reflects all sectors on an aggregate level, for the third quarter, was negative 3.8% as of Oct. 18. Sectors leading the growth trend include financials with 4.5%, healthcare with 2.9% and communication services with 2.3%. The biggest decliners are energy, where EPS has declined, or is predicted to fall, by 38.9%, materials by 21.9% and real estate by 9.8%.
Companies that are expected to report the largest earnings growth for the third quarter include Welltower Inc. with 341.3%, CF Industries Holdings Inc. with 286.2% and Autodesk Inc. with 149.8%.
Companies with the most upward revisions for the quarter include Intercontinental Exchange Inc. with 15 upward revisions, American Airlines Group Inc. with 12 upward revisions and Alaska Air Group Inc. with 11 upward revisions.
Meanwhile, companies expected to report the largest percentage change in EPS for the third quarter include Vornado Realty Trust with 791.2%, Alaska Air Group Inc. with 12.7% and Loews Corp. with 11.7%.
Companies with the greatest potential upside based on S&P Capital IQ consensus target prices as of Oct. 18 include DXC Technology Co. with 77.5%, Concho Resources Inc. with 61.9% and Diamondback Energy Inc. with 59.9%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported earnings per share of $2.68, well above the consensus estimate of $2.45. Earnings grew by 14.5%, year over year. The company reported a total revenue of $29.34 billion, well above the consensus estimate of $28.36 billion. Total revenue, however, surged by 7.6% year over year.
Wells Fargo & Co. reported earnings per share of $1.07, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17. Earnings were down 5.3%, year over year. The company reported a total revenue of $22.01 billion, well above the consensus estimate of $21.19 billion. Total revenue grew by 0.3% year over year.
