For the second quarter, 386 S&P 500 companies have posted earnings as of Aug. 2. Of those, 74% reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's analyst polling.
In the previous quarter, 75% of S&P 500 companies beat consensus estimates, with the S&P 500 collectively recording an EPS surprise of 17.7%.
For companies that have announced earnings in the latest quarter, 40.9% have shown double-digit or better year-over-year percentage growth, while seven have exceeded the 100% growth mark.
The blended growth rate for the S&P 500, which reflects all sectors on an aggregate level, for the second calendar quarter of 2019 was 1.7% as of Aug. 2. Sectors leading the growth trend include real estate with 50.3%, financials with 9.2% and healthcare with 8.2%.
S&P 500 companies that have yet to announce the latest quarterly results with the largest expected earnings growth include Autodesk Inc. with 224.6%, Campbell Soup Co. with 64.9%, and Discovery Inc. with 49.5%.
The companies getting ready to report that will have the most upward revisions include American International Group Inc. with 9 upward revisions, Diamondback Energy Inc. and Viacom Inc. with 6 upward revisions, each.
Those with the largest quarterly percentage change in EPS will include Amcor Ltd. with 6.7%, American International Group Inc. with 3.5%, and Hormel Foods Corp. with 1.4%.
Finally, companies with the greatest potential upside based on S&P Capital IQ consensus target prices include Nektar Therapeutics with 116.8%, Concho Resources Inc. with 73.9%, and Cimarex Energy Co. with 63.6%.
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported earnings of 61 cents per share, below the consensus estimate of 71 cents per share. Earnings were down by 33.7%, year over year. The company, however, reported total revenue of $69.09 billion, above the consensus estimate of $67.83 billion. Total revenue dipped by 6.0% year over year.
Apple Inc. reported EPS earnings of $2.18, above the consensus estimate of $2.10. Earnings, however, slipped 6.8% year over year. The company reported total revenue of $53.81 billion, below the consensus estimate of $53.42 billion. Total revenue ticked up by 1.0% year over year.
