Biggest concern is forward earnings.
Factset on Earnings
Key Metrics
+ Earnings Scorecard: Of the 485 companies that have reported earnings to date for Q4 2014, 76% have
reported earnings above the mean estimate and 59% have reported sales above the mean estimate.
+ Earnings Growth: The blended earnings growth rate for Q4 2014 is 3.7%. The Health Care and
Telecom Services sectors are reporting the highest growth in earnings for the quarter, while the
Energy sector is reporting the largest decline in earnings for the quarter.
+ Earnings Revisions: On December 31, the estimated earnings growth rate for Q4 2014 was 1.7%.
Seven sectors have higher growth rates today (compared to December 31) due to upside earnings
surprises, led by the Information Technology and Health Care sectors.
+ Earnings Guidance: For Q1 2015, 81 companies have issued negative EPS guidance and 15 companies
have issued positive EPS guidance.
+ Valuation: The current 12-month forward P/E ratio is 17.2. This P/E ratio is based on Thursday’s
closing price (2110.74) and forward 12-month EPS estimate ($122.73).
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