As of Feb. 8, about two-thirds of all companies in the S&P 500 have reported Q4 2018 earnings, with 71% beating consensus estimates, 7% meeting expectations and the remaining 22% missing estimates.
Communication and industrial companies had the highest proportion of positive surprises according to the data released by Factset. The lower-volatility utility and real estate sectors were relatively more predictable as 47% and 29% met expectations, respectively.
Analysis from FactSet noted that the percentage of companies beating expectations is on par with the five-year average, while revenue expectations were surpassed at a rate slightly higher than their historical average.
