We’ve got the beat: 62% of firms top forecasts in Q2

Earnings season came to an end with a thud on August 15 on weaker-than-expected reports from Wal-Mart (WMT) and Cisco (CSCO). That being said, overall it was a relatively good season.

As shown below, the final earnings beat rate (% of companies reporting better than expected earnings) came in at 62.2%, which was the highest reading since Q3 2011. The final revenue beat rate came in at 56.6%.

While top line numbers weren’t as strong as bottom line numbers, the revenue beat rate this quarter was still stronger than 3 of the past 4 earnings seasons.

Bespoke Beat Rate