Two weeks ago at this time, just 57% of the companies that had reported this earnings season had beaten earnings estimates. As shown below, 61.5% of companies that have reported have now beaten estimates. This is just below the historical average of 62% going back to 1998.
While they're still negative, guidance numbers have also gotten slightly better recently. Below is a chart showing the spread between the percentage of companies that have raised guidance minus the percentage that have lowered guidance on a quarterly basis going back to 2003. As shown, this earnings season, the spread is -3.3 percentage points, meaning more companies have lowered than raised. This is the most negative reading since the first quarter of 2009. Last week at this time, the spread was at -4.2%, however, so guidance did get better this week.
Regardless of what companies have reported, as a whole, they have performed well on their report days this season. As shown below, the average stock that has reported this season has gained 0.44% on its report day. This is the second consecutive earnings season and the fourth out of the last five where stocks have averaged gains on their report days.
