The fourth quarter of 2016’s earnings season kicked off as several of the S&P 500’s Financials sector reported earnings on Jan. 13, 2017. S&P 500 2016 Q4 earnings are expected to increase 6.2% from the prior year. If this holds, it will be the highest since the 7.0% posted in 2014 Q4. This will be the second quarter of positive year-over-year earnings growth, solidifying that the earnings recession that started in the third quarter of 2015 is over. Exhibit 1. S&P 500 % Change in 16Q4 Blended Earnings Nov. 1, 2016 to Jan. 13, 2017 by Industry Group Source: I/B/E/S

Out of 174 S&P 500 companies, 69% reported earnings above expectations for the week of Oct. 24, 2016.

Click here to view the dashboard in detail. Aggregate Estimates and Revisions Third quarter earnings are expected to increase 2.6% from Q3 2015. Excluding the energy sector, the earnings growth estimate improves to 6.4%. Of the 248 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for Q3 2016, 73.4% have reported earnings above analyst expectations. This is above the long-term average of 64% and above the average over the past four quarters of 70%. The Q3 2016 blended revenue growth estimate is 2.7%. Excluding the energy sector, the revenue growth estimate increases to 4.5%. 58% of companies have reported Q3 2016 revenue