Weekly Market Recap

The 4Q20 earnings season kicked off last week, and while better times lie ahead in 2021, the outlook for the final quarter of 2020 remains bleak. With the early reporters in the door (4.6% of market cap), we currently expect 4Q20 S&P 500 earnings per share of $37.31, which would represent a -4.8% contraction from a year ago. If this outcome is realized, it would mark the fourth consecutive quarter of negative growth, as companies that have been under pressure in 2020 continued to struggle into the end of last year.