Forget the papered over cracks of manufactured EPS 'beats', or the talking-head anecdotes of one or two companies chosen to represent the 'earnings season' visibility. This chart from S&P shows the simple reality that operating earnings per share has been growing at an ever-decreasing pace since QE began. Of course, just as they were saying in June 2011, the next few quarters will see this growth re-accelerate...
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(h/t Brad Wishak)