Through the close of Tuesday, Jul 17, a total of 55, or 11.0% of the S&P 500 firms have reported their second-quarter results. So far the results look very encouraging with positive surprises outpacing disappointments by a ratio of nearly 4:1. The median year-over-year growth rate is a very healthy 11.7% and the median surprise is 3.7%. Seven sectors have had at least one firm report, and of those, five are seeing double-digit median growth rates. There are only three sectors which have yet to have any firms report.
While it's too early to draw firm conclusions, the trend is promising.
