Harvesting insights into Q4 2023 and into 2024…
Fall is upon us and now we are seeing the Q3 results from the companies, this gives us insights into the balance sheets and looking into the 2024 forecasts. Expectations is that the Q3 earnings will be flat year over year and this is welcoming signs looking back to previous quarters. This stability, while appearing ‘flat,’ is a hopeful sign that earnings are at a turning point that will support equities’ growth in 2024. Markets, always forward-looking, have rallied year to date on optimism that this growth will return in late 2023 and into 2024. A better-than-feared outlook could give this market the fuel it needs to finish the year on a high note, whereas a more cautious tone might suggest that investors need to lower expectations for the year ahead.
As businesses and consumers acclimate to the new reality of higher for longer interest rates, the forthcoming insights offer crucial perspective. Third quarter earnings will provide data points for investors to base forward-looking assumptions on. If analysts maintain, or increase, earnings expectations for 2024, then a Christmas rally could grace the market, infusing the season with optimism. Key focal points, such as the stability of bank balance sheets and consumer spending patterns, will serve as a barometer of economic health
My themes remain unchanged. Buy the companies that have strong balance sheets, quality management and programs that are executing.
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