Earnings Almanac is a new research product where we dive into quarterly reporting for the S&P 500. The report is released the first week of the last two months of the calendar quarter.

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The May Green Book, published a short three weeks ago, included an article titled “Market Narrowness in 2023” discussing the Big Tech theme’s market leadership this year.  We noted that 77% of the S&P 500’s year-to-date return through April 30^th was produced by the nine S&P 500 members of the NYSE FANG+^® Index, itself a collection of just ten large companies that dominate the Social/Cloud/Innovators cohort.  (As for which FANG+ company is not also in the S&P 500, that is your puzzle challenge for this long weekend.)

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The S&P 500 posted a 7.7% price gain for the six months ended April 30^th, although this advance has been a hard-fought battle as gains have resulted from a narrow list of drivers. Style leadership has been concentrated in mega-cap tech names, such that the ten members of the NYSE FANG+^® Index have produced 77% of the S&P 500’s YTD gain. Furthermore, gains over recent months have resulted solely from expanding multiples. Narrowness in either thematic leadership or price drivers is concerning because breadth is a useful concept in evaluating the staying power of a market advance. In light of this year’s market action, we are intrigued by the notion of measuring breadth not simply by price moves alone but by examining each of these two important sub-components individually. Does today’s environment, where price gains are driven by valuation increases alone, tell us anything about future market returns?

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Latest numbers support a Fed pause. We believe the 25 bps rate hike in May was the last one of the current tightening cycle. Our Scorecard suggests that the disinflationary force has the upper hand and the impact of credit tightening has yet to show up.

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We have no special insights into the likely depth or duration of the banking crisis, but the impact on credit has already been severe. That might seal the fate of the economic expansion. It’s worth noting that in 2008, the recession seemed to have “caused” the credit crunch—not the other way around. 

An earlier-than-expected X-date means higher market volatility and increased chance of a temporary short-term deal. Typically, the debt ceiling drama is short-lived and there’s not much impact on most assets before or after a resolution. Overall, the possibility of an accident is now above average.

Volcker stormed to the scene to extinguish a blaze lit by others, while Powell battles a conflagration of his own making. Even if Powell executed a perfect, disinflationary soft landing, there may be something else in the cards: The magnitude of M2 shrinkage has resulted in the Marshallian K’s worst ever reading. 

Growth and Tech have been the flagrant winners YTD, yet the SVB crisis triggered further bifurcation: Since SVB failed, it’s been important to own only “big” Growth and “big” Technology, amplifying the multiples of monster stocks, like MSFT and AAPL. Can a major market low occur when investors are herded in a handful of the most richly-priced public companies in history?

The S&P 500 posted an encouraging +9.2% YTD, but below the surface that strong return was the result of a limited number of influences. There is narrowness in both thematic and return drivers; the fact that gains have not been broad-based is cause for concern about performance during the remainder of 2023.

The performance derby between actively managed portfolios and passively managed index funds is a fascinating and important topic in the investment community at large. This note provides a brief update our previous studies through the first quarter of 2023.

Read this week's Major Trend Index.

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A distinguishing feature of fixed income securities is that the expected return on a bond over its remaining lifetime is known with considerable certainty at the time of purchase. This characteristic can be a blessing or a curse, the negative aspect coming into play during an asset price bubble. Equity investors can justify almost any price as they dream of boundless riches arising from the bubble’s driving theme, limited only by their imagination. However, a bond’s yield to maturity is known at the time of purchase and this is the return investors in aggregate will earn. Even during the euphoria of an asset bubble, the expected outcome - the return of par value at maturity - is also the best-case outcome, and that is where our story begins.

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Yesterday was the six-month anniversary of the bear market low of 3,577.03 in the S&P 500. We think it’s unlikely the moderate upswing since then represents a new cyclical bull market. However, with the evidence still weighing in at Neutral, we’re not betting the farm on that opinion.

Latest numbers are unlikely to impact the Fed’s upcoming rate hike decision in May. The China reopening theme is holding up but the inflationary impulse is still missing. Our Scorecard suggests that the disinflationary force is getting a bit stronger, but the overall inflation picture remains quite muddled.