As of August 6, the blended (combines actual results for companies that have reported and estimated results for companies that have yet to report), year-over-year revenue growth rate for Q2 2021 is 24.7%. How does this growth rate compare to recent quarters? What sectors and companies are reporting the highest growth in revenues?
The Q2 revenue growth rate of 24.7% is well above the five-year average growth rate of 4.5% and the 10-year average growth rate of 3.4%. In fact, if 24.7% is the actual growth rate for the quarter, it will mark the highest year-over-year revenue growth reported by the index since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008. The current record is 12.7%, which occurred in Q2 2011. The unusually high growth rate is due to a combination of higher revenues in Q2 2021 and an easier comparison to lower revenues in Q2 2020 due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on a number of industries.
At the sector level, all 11 sectors are reporting year-over-year growth in revenues. On a percentage basis, eight of the 11 sectors are reporting double-digit revenue growth, led by the Energy (112.8%), Materials (37.8%), and Consumer Discretionary (34.7%) sectors. On a dollar-level basis, nine of the 11 sectors are reporting a year-over-year increase in revenues of at least $30 billion, led by the Energy (+$130.5 billion), Consumer Discretionary (+$120.2 billion), and Health Care (+$102.8 billion) sectors.
At the company level, Caesars Entertainment (+1,878%), Las Vegas Sands (+1,097%), Wynn Resorts (+1,055%), MGM Resorts (+683%), and Live Nation Entertainment (+677%) have reported the largest year-over-year increases in revenues on a percentage basis, while Exxon Mobil (+$35.1 billion), Amazon.com (+$24.2 billion), Chevron (+$24.1 billion), Alphabet (+$23.6 billion), and Apple (+$21.7 billion) have reported the largest year-over-year increases in revenues on a dollar-level basis.
Analysts expect the S&P 500 to continue to report double-digit revenue growth for the remainder of 2021, but at lower levels compared to Q2 2021. The estimated revenue growth rate for Q3 2021 is 14.4%, while the estimated revenue growth for Q4 2021 is 11.0%.
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