With Q2 results from almost 53% of S&P 500 members already out, we have not seen any unusual and unexpected weakness in corporate earnings. Growth was expected to be weak in Q2 and the reports thus far confirm that expectation.

Through July 30th, we have seen results from 262 S&P 500 members or 52.6% of the index's total membership. Total earnings for these companies are up +3.2% on +5.2% higher revenues, with 77.6% beating EPS estimates and 56.3% beating revenue estimates.

The charts below put these results in a historical context

The trade issue has been a recurring theme this earnings season. In addition to companies in the technology sector, operators in a variety of areas like JPMorgan (JPM Quick QuoteJPM - Free Report) , Caterpillar (CAT Quick QuoteCAT - Free Report) , CSX Corp (CSX Quick QuoteCSX - Free Report) and others have cited the trade overhang as a reason for an uncertain business outlook.

For more details about the Q2 earnings season and expectations for the coming quarters, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report.
 

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.

See their latest picks free >>