Winners Of Q1 Earnings: 5 Best ETF Charts

The Q1 earnings season has reached its tail end with 94.8% of the S&P 500 index market capitalization that has reported so far up 24.2% on 8.5% revenue growth, with 77.6% beating EPS estimates and 74.5% coming ahead of top-line expectations.

Though earnings and revenue beat ratios are in line with the prior quarter for the same group of companies, growth rates are tracking above the historical periods. Overall, Q1 earnings growth is on pace to be the strongest in seven years, with growth of 24% from the same period last year on 8.5% higher revenues (read: Top and Flop ETFs at Half-Way Q2).

Given this, several equity ETFs have impressed with their performances and generated handsome returns over the trailing one month even after being hit by the trade war worries and geopolitical tensions. While there are winners in many corners of the space, below are five ETFs that buoyed up on robust earnings results.

In addition, we have given a chart for their one-month performance and compared them with the broad market fund (AX:SPY) and the broad sector.

PowerShares DWA Healthcare Momentum Portfolio (HN:PTH)

This fund offers exposure to healthcare stocks that are showing relative strength (momentum). It surged 12.4% in the trailing one-month period on strong Q1 earnings. This is because the stock prices in response to the earnings announcement for the sector have been the second highest with 1.8% gains. Total earnings for 94.8% of the sector’s total market cap are up 14.4% on 7.4% higher revenues, with 78.4% beating EPS and 72.5% beating revenue estimates. PTH has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a High risk outlook.

PowerShares S&P SmallCap Energy Fund PSCE

This fund targets the small-cap segment of the energy sector. While many energy ETFs have performed exceptionally well this earnings season, PSCE stole the show gaining 12.4% in a month. This is primarily thanks to the dual tailwinds of upbeat earnings reports and the jump in oil prices. Though the price performance in response to earnings have been negative, the energy sector remains the top contributor to total S&P 500 earnings, with earnings growth of 75.7%. Additionally, energy came up with an earnings beat ratio of 72.4% in the small-cap space, the second highest trailing transportation’s 92.9% earnings beat. PSCE has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a High risk outlook (read: Tap Oil with Best Energy ETFs & Stocks YTD).

PureFunds Video Game Tech ETF GAMR

This fund targets the global video game industry of the technology sector including game developers, console and chip manufacturers, and game retailers. It has gained 11.6% over the past month. In particular, earnings from Glu Mobile GLUU, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) EA, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Take Two Interactive Software (NYSE:T) have been strong. Overall, the Toys - Games - Hobbies industry came up with a 63% earnings beat in Q1.

ARK Innovation ETF (KW:ARKK)

This is an actively managed fund focusing on companies that are expected to benefit from the development of new products or services, technological improvement and advancements in genomic revolution, Web x.0 and industrial innovation. Strong earnings from companies like Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS) , Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) , Illimina (NASDAQ:ILMN) and Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) provided a boost to the fund’s portfolio. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also added to the strength after it projects that it will become profitable in the second half of 2018. These stocks are among the top 10 holdings and make up for a substantial 30% of assets, leading to a 11.5% rise in ARKK over the past one month (read: 5 ETFs to Ride on Tesla Q1 Growth Story).

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF FTXL

This fund offers exposure to the most-liquid U.S. semiconductor securities based on volatility, value and growth. The string of better-than-expected results from industry players such as Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) MU, Intel (NYSE:T) , Texas Instruments (NYSE:T) , MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) , Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) LRCX and Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) MCHP instilled optimism in the space, which saw rough trading amid a spate of negative news just ahead of their earnings. These six stocks account for 41.1% share in the basket. Overall, the semiconductor industry has been the biggest driver of technology earnings, contributing 66.3% to growth. FTXL has gained 11.1% in one month and sports a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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