It is still early in the Q1 reporting cycle, with results from only 33 S&P 500 members out, as of April 15^th. But the early results have been favorable, particularly from the major banks like JPMorgan (JPM Quick QuoteJPM - Free Report) , Citigroup (C Quick QuoteC - Free Report) and others.

We should keep in mind, however, that while results have been better relative to pre-season expectations, growth still remains challenged. You can see this in the comparison charts below that show the Finance sector’s Q1 results thus far and compare them to what we had seen from the same banks in other recent quarters.

As you can see above, a bigger proportion of companies are coming out with better than expected results, likely indicating that expectations may have fallen too much ahead of the start of this reporting season.

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