Stats

As of Tuesday, 332 companies in the S&P500 had reported Q4 financial results; and of those, 70.5% reported positive earnings surprises. So far, adjusted earnings are tracking towards $22.98 per share, a 38% year-over-year increase. There are 20 companies in the S&P500 reporting today, and so far, five of the six that have reported already have beat expectations.

According to Standard & Poor, there is $1.1 trillion in cash sitting on the balance sheets of the top 50 corporate cash hoarders: Toyota with $48 billion; China Mobile with $47 billion; Petrobras with $35 billion; and Microsoft with over $40 billion. Other companies with a huge stash of cash include Total, Volkswagen, and Vodafone. Cash is a drag on returns and yields on short-term paper are low, so there is incentive for these companies to invest, make acquisitions, or return capital to shareholders through a rising dividend or share repurchase.

In the month of January, large-cap stocks outperformed small-cap stocks. Stocks typically have positive returns during the month of January with small-caps outperforming. This trend seems to be diminishing.

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