Earnings Season – So Far So Good

With the first week of earnings season complete, we are encouraged by the good reports. We expect this current trend to continue as earnings and revenue growth are up. We also like the fact that $51 billion of cash came off the sidelines this past week as investor optimism about the recovery is growing.

We are also optimistic! This optimism is tempered however with the knowledge that sometimes investor expectations get ahead of themselves, leading to short-term corrections and declines in the market. This is the same pattern we saw last quarter, when stocks declined in January. American consumers will be paying down debt for a while, and eventually the U.S. government will need to reign in its own debt, leading to modest but hopefully sustainable economic expansion for years to come.

I do have to say though, it is great to see positive earnings reports again, a gradual trend we hope we see for a long time!