Insight into the Q2 earnings of the S&P 500

Of the 487 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings to date for Q2 2013, 72% have reported earnings above the mean estimate and 53% have reported revenues above the mean estimate. The blended earnings growth rate for Q2 2013 is 2.1%. If this is the final growth rate for the quarter, it will mark the third consecutive quarter of earnings growth for the index. The current 12-month forward P/E ratio is 14.1, which is in line with the 10-year average.

On June 30, the earnings growth rate for Q2 2013 was 0.6%. The Financials sector has seen the largest increase in earnings growth since the end of the quarter. The Telecom Services and Energy sectors have witnessed the largest decreases in earnings growth over this time.

For Q3 2013, 85 companies have issued negative EPS guidance and 18 companies have issued positive EPS guidance.