By Steve Goldstein
With 96% of U.S. companies reporting results, and 97% of European firms also done so, it’s clear that earnings on both sides of the Atlantic have been stellar.
According to Société Générale, Stoxx Europe 600 corporate earnings per share for 2021 are expected by analysts to be 11% above 2019 levels. While that’s not as strong as the U.S. — S&P 500 earnings are expecting to be 26% above 2019 levels — the European momentum has been strong, with second-quarter EPS 28% above expectations, which is better than the 17% beat in the U.S.
On sales, however, European companies haven’t delivered as much. Per SocGen, the U.S. consensus is for sales to be 12% higher than before COVID, compared to Europe where sales are seen being 1% below their 2019 levels. The strategists continue to favor construction materials, utilities, technology and healthcare sectors.
European stocks slipped on Friday as banking stocks fell ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech.
The Stoxx Europe 600 (STOXX:XX:SXXP) fell 0.1% to 469.76, with insurer Prudential (LON:UK:PRU) , bank BNP Paribas (PAR:FR:BNP) and plane maker Airbus (PAR:FR:AIR) retreating.
Of the major regional indexes, the German DAX (XEX:DX:DAX) declined 0.1%, the French CAC 40 (PAR:FR:PX1) declined 0.3% and the U.K. FTSE 100 (FTSE:UK:UKX) slipped 0.2%.
