With roughly 60% of S&P 500 companies having reported, earnings growth estimates have climbed to 27.8%—nearly double the 14.4% expected at the start of the quarter. While mega-cap companies have delivered particularly strong results, growth expectations have improved across every sector except energy. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth. Equally notable, revenue growth is now exceeding 10%, with broad-based strength across sectors. 2026 full-year earni… View More
The federal government is still on an unsustainable fiscal path, with the national debt reaching $39 trillion in March and poised to rise further in the years ahead as we keep running budget deficits. However, beneath the headlines, both revenue and spending trends have shifted in a positive direction. Its possible investors are recognizing this, which may be helping buoy stock markets. On the tax front, yes, the Big Beautiful Bill enacted last year made permanent many of the temporary tax chan… View More
Given sector performance in the first quarter, most people would not be surprised to learn that Energy and Materials were two of the top three contributors to forward upward earnings revisions. What might be surprising is that expectations for NTM earnings in the Tech sector are up by more than 18%, even though the sector's total return was down 9.1% in the first quarter. Multiples for the sector at 23.2x are meaningfully lower than the Industrials and Consumer Discretionary sectors at 25.8x and… View More
Strategas’ Common Man CPI popped in March amid the energy shock resulting from the U.S war with Iran. As a reminder, the Common Man CPI (CMCPI) consists only of the components people must buy – Food, Energy, Shelter, Insurance, and Children’s clothing. Essentially, it is a “core” measure of inflation in the way a consumer, rather than an economist, would think of it. While the move in our measure m/m was lower than the 0.9% m/m increase of the headline CPI, consumers remain pressured … View More
In 2024, Republicans swept the White House, the Senate, and the House, allowing them to make the Trump tax cuts permanent. But the clock is ticking on their congressional majorities. At this point, we think the odds are very high that the Democrats will win back the House in the midterm election in November. Compared to 2024, the Democrats only need to gain three seats to take back the House. Historically, the party not in control of the White House – this cycle, the Democrats – have gained… View More