A Weakening Profit Outlook Is the Latest Worry for the S&P 500
- Fourth-quarter EPS forecast down 2.5% in past two months
- Low valuations no reason to buy if predictions don’t come true
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Cook up whatever narrative you want for the stock market, in the end it will come down to earnings. And that’s a story that has been gradually getting darker.
In the latest twist, analysts have trimmed forecasts for S&P 500 profits in the fourth quarter to $41.58 a share from $42.66 two months ago. The 2.5 percent reduction is the most at this point in a quarter since early 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show.