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Alphabet, Facebook, 3M, Boeing and Exxon are part of Zacks Earnings Preview

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 23, 2018 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , Facebook , 3M (MMM - Free Report) , Boeing (BA - Free Report) and Exxon (XOM - Free Report) .

To see more earnings analysis, visit https://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

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Q2 Earnings Showing Strong Revenue Momentum

We are off to a strong start in the Q2 earnings season, with all around positive surprises and plenty of momentum on the revenue side. Importantly, estimates for Q3 and beyond are holding up nicely.

With results from 87 S&P 500 members that combined account for a quarter of the index’s total capitalization, we can say with a fair level of confidence that the Q2 earnings season is on track to be as good as what we saw in 2018 Q1. Please recall that Q1 earnings growth had reached the highest level in more than 7 years, with many seeing that growth pace representing a peak.

The blended Q2 earnings growth (blending the reported with the unreported) at present of +21% is below the preceding quarter’s +24.6% level. But given the momentum we have seen from the 87 S&P 500 members that have reported already, both in terms of growth as well as positive surprises, we can see Q2 earnings growth steadily moving towards the Q1 level as the remainder of this earnings season unfolds.

This week is particularly busy in that respect, with more than 750 companies reporting results, including 175 S&P 500 members. This week’s reporting docket has representation from a cross section of the business world, from Alphabet and Facebook to 3M, Boeing, Exxon and plenty in between.

Let me share one standout feature the Q2 results thus far before we get into the scorecard. This standout feature pertains to revenues, with the proportion of companies beating revenue Q2 estimates tracking significantly above any other recent period. You can see this in the chart below which shows that the proportion of companies beating revenue estimates is tracking 20 percentage points above the average over the last twelve quarters.

Q2 Earnings Season Scorecard (as of July 20th, 2018)

We now have Q2 results from 87 S&P 500 members that combined account for 25.7% of the index’s total market capitalization, with total earnings for these 87 companies up +20.9% from the same period last year on +10.3% higher revenues, with 86.2% of the companies beating EPS estimates, and 77% surpassing revenue estimates.

The comparison charts below put results from these 87 index members in a historical context.

The growth pace is a tad bit below prior-quarter’s level, but materially above the 4- and 12-quarter averages. The proportion of positives surprises, as earlier pointed out, is tracking materially above historical periods.

Overall Expectations for 2018 Q2

Looking at Q2 as a whole, combining the actual results from the 87 index members with estimates from the still-to-come 413 companies, total earnings are expected to be up +21% from the same period last year on +8.3% higher revenues, with double-digit earnings growth for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors. This would follow +24.6% earnings growth in 2018 Q1 on +8.7%, the highest growth in almost 7 years.

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