This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

Chart Of The Day: Souring "Mother's Milk" Edition

Tyler Durden's picture




 

If earnings are the "mother's milk" of equity market returns, then stocks are about to turn sour (that is of course if fundamentals have anything whatsoever to do with it anymore). As we detailed previously, Q4 is shaping up to be the worst in years, and with next week seeing the bulk of names (36% of the S&P 500) reporting (including many of the biggest belwethers and major energy firms), we suspect the 2014 EPS chart below (and the already collapsing consensus expectations for 2015 earnings) will continue to plummet.

 

Q4 Operating EPS is tracking 3% below consensus estimates at the start of the quarter... and has utterly cratered in recent weeks...

 

And looking forward, things are getting worse...Consensus 2015 EPS and sales fell another 0.7% during this week

Negative revisions to Energy expectations led the charge with EPS estimates falling 7% and sales falling 5%.

 

Consumer Discretionary, Telecom Services, and Materials earnings estimates each fell 1%.

 

Only the Health Care sector reported positive revisions to 2015 estimates (+0.8%).

As we noted previously, it appears that the "unambiguously good" crash in oil prices is finally becoming quite prominently bad, and since it can't be swept under the rug any more, will manifest itself in not only a major miss to aggregate Q4 earnings, but what now appears to be a decline in revenues, and soon, earnings in coming quarters and for all of 2015! From Factset:

For Q1 2015 and Q2 2015, analysts are currently predicting revenue growth rates of 0.3% and -0.3%. These revenue growth rates are also below the estimated growth rates of 1.6% and 1.0% for these same two quarters back on December 31.

 

For Q1 2015 and Q2 2015, analysts are currently predicting earnings growth rates of 1.8% and 3.2%, respectively. These earnings growth rates are below the estimated growth rates of 4.0% and 5.2%

We fully expect quarterly revenues and EPS in 2015 to not only end up missing expectations, but to also post negative prints Y/Y when the full collapse of the shale sector flows through the income statement some time in the current quarter, not to mention the already stark slowdown of the US export sector now that both Japan and Europe are engaging in unprecedented currency destruction which will lead to a depressed earnings (and revenue) state which will persist throughout the end of the year and certainly until the Fed admits the pipe dream about a rate hike was just that. But for now, this is how forward EPS are shaping up.

As the chart above show, the drop in forward EPS - while still somewhat muted - has already suffered its biggest decline since Lehman. Should the current EPS stagnation persist, or worse accelerate, then it will be increasingly difficult to justify a bullish S&P growth thesis, based on multiple expansion alone.

As a final reminder, some time just before the Lehman failure, forward EPS were tracking at 100. A few months later the number dropped by 40%. So for all those who are using the current forward 12 month P/E ratio of 16.5x, a number which is well above the 5- and 10-year average forward PE of 13.6x and 14.1x as a benchmark for cheapness, be very careful.

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:09 | 5700128 El Oregonian
El Oregonian's picture

You mean evaporated milk...

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:11 | 5700135 wee-weed up
wee-weed up's picture

 

 

Obola's economy...

Its chickens...

Have come home...

To ROOST!

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:34 | 5700343 JoeySandwiches
JoeySandwiches's picture

I think whoever wrote Obama's SOTU speech is trying to make him look bad. 'The crisis has passed' line right before the depression is about to take a noticeable turn for the worse? 

This is either some psyops bullshit or they want him to be the fall guy for the banksters.

 

 

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:09 | 5700132 DIgnified
DIgnified's picture

There's a disturbingly huge Jim Cramer ad on this page.  It says "my best ideas come from other Wall St pros."


What "good ideas" is he taking about?

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:14 | 5700144 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

Learning a new dance called the Muppet Stomp.  That's one of the good ideas he's talking about.

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:15 | 5700285 new game
new game's picture

all dance and sing to: i owe i owe, it's off to work i go...

paid my dues, but i couldn't stop spending so now i

go to work because

refrain; i owe, i owe...

add your own line here

refrain

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:13 | 5700136 spinone
spinone's picture

QE just isn't big enough

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:12 | 5700138 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

<---- QEULTRA

<---- Stawks crash

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 16:58 | 5700245 deeply indebted
deeply indebted's picture

Too bad none of those "green shoots" had any soil or water..

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:01 | 5700256 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

No...LIQUIDITY is the mother's milk of equity returns...have you been asleep for the past 6 years??

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:06 | 5700272 new game
new game's picture

i got a bad case of bubble gut...

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:06 | 5700268 new game
new game's picture

wait until the full effects of 45.29/bbl oil sets in for employment and earnings. also, watching lumber currently bouncing off support.

so we will need more criminality(qeX) to sow the green shits theory, ha...

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:14 | 5700290 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

"Beggar thy neighbor."

 

Instead of a one percent chance of making it you will have zero!

HOORAY!

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:07 | 5700270 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

Someone call Arther Anderson.

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:20 | 5700306 joego1
joego1's picture

Tough titties said the kitties but the milk was still sour...

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:31 | 5700339 Bossman1967
Bossman1967's picture

the milk has been sour for years and the sheeple keep drinking I am of the to 20 percent so they say and the economy sucks the food tastes like shit and I am currently looking for a new career the job market sucks so if I am of the to 20 in earners what does that say about the USSA state of things. drink up sheeple nomad milk tastes as fine as wine. lmao

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 17:33 | 5700347 Nobody For President
Nobody For President's picture

Not to worry - Consumer Confidence (TM) is at an all time high!

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 19:38 | 5700662 eeaton
eeaton's picture

"Earnings are Mothers Milk" now where did I hear that before? Of course earlier this afternoon while driving and listening to Kulow on WABC in NY. Touting how robust earnings are and have been and along with "king Dollar" Happy Tiimes are here again!! Can he be that ignorant??

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 20:23 | 5700774 Creepy A. Cracker
Creepy A. Cracker's picture

"...if fundamentals have anything whatsoever to do with it anymore."

LOL!  Not since the 80's.  Possibly have to go back to the 70's.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!