Heading into the end of the first quarter, 105 S&P 500 companies have issued EPS guidance for the quarter. Of these 105 companies, 77 have issued negative EPS guidance and 28 companies have issued positive EPS guidance. The number of companies issuing negative EPS for Q1 is above the five-year average (74), while the number of companies issuing positive EPS guidance for Q1 is below the five-year average (32).
The percentage of companies issuing negative EPS guidance is 73% (77 out of 105). This percentage is above the five-year average of 70%, as more companies have issued negative EPS guidance than average and fewer companies have issued positive EPS guidance than average.
What is driving the above-average negative sentiment in EPS guidance for the first quarter?
At the sector level, the Information Technology and Health Care sectors are the main contributors to the above-average negative sentiment in EPS guidance for the first quarter.
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