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

Click here to view the dashboard in detail. Please note: Updated to include companies that reported after market close. Earnings Q3 201616 The Q3 2016 blended earnings growth estimate is 1.0%. Excluding the energy sector, the earnings growth estimate for the index improves to 4.8%. 21% of the S&P 500 companies have reported Q3 2016 EPS. Of the 107 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for Q3 2016, 78.5% have reported earnings above analyst expectations, 5.6% reported earnings in line with analyst expectations and 15.9% reported earnings below analyst expectations. In a typical quarter (since 1994), 64% of companies beat estimates, 16% match and 21% miss estimates. Over the