Companies in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) reported what was widely considered to be a solid first quarter for the index, with one notable exception: drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY). I am.
Last month, the company posted a huge loss per share in the first quarter due to costs related to a series of acquisitions and cut its full-year profit forecast.
With 92% of S&P companies complete reporting, the index is on pace for 5.4% year-over-year revenue growth, which is the index's fastest year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 2022. This is the largest since. In Bristol, that pace jumps to 8.3%, said John Butters, senior revenue analyst at FactSet.
Overall, Healthcare sector (XLV) revenues were down 25.4% year-over-year, matching the drop in Energy (XLE) and making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 this quarter.
If you exclude several other companies from this sector, the S&P 500's earnings growth would be even greater. Butters also calculated the index's numbers excluding Pfizer (PFE) and Gilead Sciences (GILD). Gilead Sciences reported a loss of $1.32 in the most recent quarter, compared to earnings of $1.37 in the same period last year. Meanwhile, Pfizer reported earnings per share of $0.82, down from $1.23 in the year-ago period.
Excluding these two companies and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the S&P 500 would have grown earnings at a pace of 9.7%, according to Butters' analysis.
