S& P 500 Earnings

Chart of the Day puts earnings into perspective today:

While the stock market is up sharply since early March, the economy as well as corporate earnings continue to suffer. Today's chart helps provide some perspective as to the magnitude of the current economic decline. Today's chart illustrates that 12-month, as-reported S&P 500 earnings have declined over 90% over the past 20 months (with over 90% of S&P 500 companies having reported for Q1 2009), making this by far the largest decline on record (the data goes back to 1936). In fact, real earnings have dropped to a record low and if current estimates hold, Q3 2009 will see the first 12-month period during which S&P 500 earnings are negative.

*Long ETFs related to the S&P 500.

Link to their website {subscription required. https://www.chartoftheday.com/

My comments: Earnings are in many cases being artificially lowered due to corporate write offs and charges. Earnings look different when financial companies are removed from this analysis. Still there is no denying that this recession is carving long and deep into corporate balance sheets and cash flows.