The earnings season is well into the second half of the reporting cycle with over 291 S&P 500 companies having already reported results till Oct 28. Based on the hitherto observed pattern, Q3 results have improved significantly from the preceding quarters and are likely to end up in the positive territory after five consecutive quarters of earnings decline for the benchmark index.
Per the latest Earnings Preview report, combining the actual results from the 291 S&P 500 members with estimates from the yet-to-report 209 index members, overall Q3 earnings are expected to be up 2% on a 1.4% growth in revenues. The relative improvement in estimate revisions for the quarter is largely due to a turnaround in the economy and rising oil prices. Experts widely believe that growth is likely to ramp up in Q4 and beyond.
For Q3 as a whole, about four of the 16 Zacks sectors are expected to witness an earnings decline, with Oil/Energy, Transportation and Autos being the biggest drag.
Over 1000 companies are scheduled to report results this week, including 130 S&P 500 members, bringing the tally for Q3 results of the index’s total membership to 84.2%. Among the Staffing stocks slated to report their third-quarter 2016 numbers on Nov 1, let’s have a sneak peek at two major players to see how things are shaping up for the upcoming results.
Insperity, Inc. (NYSE:NSP) is scheduled to report its earnings before the opening bell tomorrow. The company is well placed to benefit from the booming professional employer organization industry, strong client retention and growth in worksite employees in the long run. However, Insperity has not achieved the desired levels despite increasing average worksite employees, which remain a major concern. For the impending quarter, we cannot conclusively predict as earnings beat as the company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, and Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
(Read more: Insperity to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in Store?)
Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC) is slated to report its earnings after the closing bell tomorrow. For the third quarter, KForce expects secular drivers for technology investments which include mobility, cloud computing, cyber security, ecommerce, digital marketing and Big Data. Advancements in these areas are likely to remain critical across all industries for meeting evolving customer expectations. The fall in supply of these resources and the requirement for specialized skill sets in such project-oriented discipline will remain a challenge for the company. Kforce has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Over the last four quarters, the company beat estimates twice, with an average negative surprise of 0.41%.
(Read more: Kforce to Report Q3 Earnings: Will it Disappoint?)
Please check our Earnings ESP Filter that enables you to find stocks that are expected to come out with earnings surprises.
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KFORCE INC (KFRC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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