Bad Tidings: S&P 500 Companies Issue Negative Guidance

S&P 500 companies have, for the most part, beaten analysts’ third quarter earnings expectations. But their projections for the fourth quarter haven’t been as impressive, as compared to expectations, according to a report from analyst John Butters of FactSet.

Of the 106 companies that have provided fourth quarter guidance, 78, or 74%, have provided guidance below analysts’ expectations. After both the first and second quarters, 64% of companies issued guidance below analysts’ expectations.

Companies in the consumer-oriented� sectors issued a particularly high percentage of below-expected guidance that fell below expectations.

Of the five consumer staples companies that issued fourth quarter guidance, all five have missed expectations. Of the 18 consumer discretionary companies, 14 issued guidance below expectations.

More than 80% of� materials, health care and industrial companies also issued below-expected projections.