During the first two months of the first quarter, analysts lowered earnings estimates for companies in the S&P 500 for the quarter. The Q1 bottom-up EPS estimate (which is an aggregation of the median EPS estimates of all the companies in the index) dropped by 6.5% (to $37.60 from $40.21) during this period. How significant is a 6.5% decline in the bottom-up EPS estimate during the first two months of a quarter? How does this decrease compare to recent quarters?

To date, 96% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported actual results for Q4 2018. In terms of earnings, the percentage of companies reporting actual EPS above estimates (69%) is below the five-year average. In aggregate, companies are reporting earnings that are 3.3% above the estimates, which is also below the five-year average. In terms of revenues, the percentage of companies reporting actual revenues above estimates (61%) is slightly above the five-year average. In aggregate, companies are reporting revenues that are 0.3% above the estimates, which is below the five-year average.