WSJ : Stocks Keep Rallying, Despite Lack of Visibility on Economy

Stocks Keep Rallying, Despite Lack of Visibility on Economy

Investors say they are ‘flying in the dark’ as the dispersion of earnings estimates reaches its highest level since 2009

The coronavirus pandemic has upended expectations for corporate earnings and economic growth, so obscuring the outlook for financial markets that some investors say it is as if they are flying blind.

In ordinary times, many investors consider earnings projections a critical factor in determining what shares are worth and look to forecasts for metrics such as gross domestic product to gauge the health of the economy.

Now, as the pandemic disrupts industries from travel to manufacturing to retail, the only consensus is that those measures are doomed to fall.

Even so, stocks continue to rally, with the S&P 500 up 27% from its March low. Money managers attribute much of the bounce to stimulus from the Federal Reserve, but the disconnect between rising stock prices and a lack of visibility on the economy has lent an unsettled tone to the rally.

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Many investors say they hesitate to jump back into the market when so much remains unclear, but they also fear missing out if stocks keep climbing.

Just how far earnings will fall is a subject of great debate. Disagreement among analysts has soared, with the dispersion of estimates for S&P 500 company earnings over the next full fiscal year reaching the highest level in March since May 2009, according to BofA Global Research.

“We’re flying in the dark here,” said Ted Chang, a portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, which has $38 billion in assets under management. “All anyone can say with certainty is that estimates have to come down, and no one can say they need to come down by X, Y or Z amount.”

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Meanwhile, more than 160 companies in the S&P 500—from Target Corp. TGT -1.38% to Harley-Davidson Inc. HOG -6.60% to Molson Coors Beverage Co. —have withdrawn or suspended their financial guidance, according to Wells Fargo Securities. On a recent earnings call, Evan Greenberg, the chief executive of Chubb Ltd., said that while the insurance company doesn’t give forward guidance, the economic crisis sparked by the pandemic will affect business, though “the degree of revenue impact is simply unknowable.”

Investors will parse earnings reports this week from companies including Walt Disney Co., General Motors Co. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and look to the April jobs report for clues about the outlook for the rest of the year.

The hazy view into the prospects for U.S. businesses presents a challenge for money managers who have already endured a wild ride this year. The S&P 500 plunged 34% between Feb. 19 and March 23 but has since rebounded sharply, cutting its losses for the year to 12%.

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Analysts forecasting results for individual companies expect S&P 500 profits to decline 18% this year, according to FactSet, a stark reversal from their call at the beginning of the year for 9.2% growth. That estimate has continued to drop in recent weeks as first-quarter results have trickled in from about 55% of the companies in the index.

Even so, some investors suspect analysts have been slow to trim their forecasts.

“That’s a little bit of a worrying sign for markets, that we will go into the later parts of the year and we’ll just see this slow steady trickle of negative news as the outlook gets worse and worse,” said Matt Forester, chief investment officer at BNY Mellon’s Lockwood Advisors.

Some big banks have predicted sharper declines, with Bank of America forecasting earnings will tumble 29% in 2020 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. anticipating a 33% drop.

At BMO Capital Markets, chief investment strategist Brian Belski suspended his forecast for S&P 500 earnings over the course of 2020. He said results from the first half of 2020 don’t show a company’s fundamental condition.

“We plan to reinstate a year-end earnings number and year-end price target midyear, once the dust settles,” he said.

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The opaque view has left investors discounting expectations for the first half of the year. Instead, many have taken an individualistic approach, evaluating which companies have enough cash on hand to withstand a prolonged downturn and which may be forced to close.

The five biggest U.S. companies— Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc., which together make up about 20% of the market value of the S&P 500—reported results last week that showed Silicon Valley is generally faring well. Meanwhile, companies across other industries, including Hertz Global Holdings Inc., Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., have sought bankruptcy protection or are bracing for potential filings.