Back to top

Image: Bigstock

4 Best ETF Charts of Q1 Earnings

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Q1 reporting cycle has effectively come to an end, with earnings of 97.9% of the S&P 500 market capitalization that has reported so far down 12.7% on 1.3% higher revenues. Notably, 66.3% surpassed EPS estimates and 57.8% beat top-line expectations.
 
This is weaker than the same group of companies in other recent periods and reflects the pandemic-related lockdowns that started coming into effect toward the end of the quarter. However, six sectors came up with earnings growth.

Given this, several equity ETFs have impressed with their performances and generated handsome returns over the trailing two months. While there are winners in many corners of the space, below are four ETFs that buoyed up on strong earnings results. In addition, we have given a chart for their two-month performance and compared them with the broad market fund (SPY - Free Report) and the broad sector.

Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY - Free Report)

This ETF offers global exposure to companies that derive 70% or more revenues from online and virtual retail. Even though earnings for the retail sector have been weak due to COVID-19 driven lockdowns, online sales drove revenues for most players engaged in digital services.  Notably, Q1 earnings and revenue growth as well as earnings beat ratio are historically lower for the same group of retailers, while the revenue beat ratio is much higher. IBUY skyrocketed 68.3% in two months and carries a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) (read: E-Commerce ETFs Surge Amid COVID-19 Crisis).



WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund (WCLD - Free Report)

This fund offers exposure to emerging companies focused on delivering cloud-based software to customers. The cloud-computing companies reported better-than-expected revenues in the first quarter buoyed by stay-at-home orders that boosted demand for work and entertainment from home. In particular, cloud revenues jumped 52% from the year-ago quarter for Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , 59% for Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , 33% for Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and 19% for International Business Machines (IBM - Free Report) . The optimism has led to strong trading in the ETF, which is up 65% over the past two months and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.


 

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB - Free Report)

This fund provides exposure to U.S. companies that manufacture residential homes. It surged 68.3% in the trailing two-month period on strong Q2 earnings. This is because the construction sector remains the top contributor to total S&P 500 earnings, with earnings and revenue growth of 13.4% and 12.6%, respectively. ITB has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a High risk outlook (read: 5 Best-Performing Sector ETFs of May).



Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (BBC - Free Report)

This fund targets the biotechnology segment with exposure to companies that are in the clinical-trial stage. Total earnings from 99.5% of the medical sector are up 9.3% on 10.5% higher revenues, with 86.5% of the companies beating on earnings and 76.9% exceeding top-line estimates. Notably, the sector’s earnings beat ratio is the highest of all the sectors in the Q1 earnings season. As a result, BBC has gained 50.4% over the past two months and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a High risk outlook (read: Biotech ETF Hits a New 52-Week High).



Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>
 

Published in