Are Fewer Companies Issuing Quarterly EPS Guidance Since Comments from Buffett and Dimon?

Temporary Change?

It is important to note that the decrease in the number of S&P 500 companies issuing EPS guidance for the third quarter may be due to the uncertainty surrounding trade deals and the impact of tariffs. Companies may be more reluctant than usual to issue quarterly EPS guidance (particularly positive EPS guidance) amid this uncertainty. It will bear watching to see if a smaller number of companies issue quarterly EPS guidance in subsequent quarters after the trade and tariff situations are resolved.

The term “guidance” (or “preannouncement”) is defined as a projection or estimate for EPS provided by a company in advance of the company reporting actual results. Guidance is classified as negative if the estimate (or mid-point of a range estimates) provided by a company is lower than the mean EPS estimate the day before the guidance was issued. Guidance is classified as positive if the estimate (or mid-point of a range of estimates) provided by the company is higher than the mean EPS estimate the day before the guidance was issued.