Many SP 500 companies forecasting third-quarter mi
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With revenue streams drying up and fewer places to cut costs, corporate America’s outlook for third-quarter earnings is looking grim.
So far, 103 companies in the index have provided guidance for the third quarter. Of those, 80% have guided below Wall Street consensus estimates, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet. That’s the most negative outlook since FactSet began tracking the figures in the first quarter of 2006.
The outlook doesn’t bode well for a market that’s at multi-year highs and will soon be facing added volatility as the November elections and the January “fiscal cliff” come closer.
Adding insult to injury, S&P 500 companies are projected to see earnings drop year-over-year for the first time in 12 quarters. Third-quarter earnings are currently estimated to drop by 2.7% for the S&P 500 as a whole, the worst forecast growth rate over the past 12 quarters, Butters added. At the beginning of the quarter, analysts had been forecasting earnings growth of 1.9%.
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2012/09/...er-misses/