May 24, 06:50 PM

S&P 500 Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates With 12.9% Growth; Only 8 Firms Withdraw EPS Guidance Amid Tariff Impact

The first quarter earnings season for the S&P 500 has shown strong performance with 78% of companies beating earnings per share (EPS) estimates, surpassing the five-year average of 77%. Revenue beats were recorded by 63% of companies, slightly below the five-year average of 69%. Year-over-year earnings growth for the S&P 500 reached 12.9%, exceeding the March 31 estimate of 7.1%, while revenue growth was 4.9%, also above the 4.3% estimate. Despite ongoing tariff uncertainties, only 8 out of 259 companies providing full-year 2025 EPS guidance withdrew or failed to update their guidance, with six citing tariffs as a reason. Approximately 85% of companies mentioned tariffs during earnings calls, but empirical analysis suggests only about 11% reported explicit tariff impacts, which corresponded to an estimated 7% decline in gross profit margins. Overall, more than half of the companies maintained their previous EPS guidance for 2025, indicating cautious but stable outlooks amid tariff-related challenges.

Written with ChatGPT (GPT-4).