John Butters Quotations

Many of the energy sector earnings have been revised up recently, and that includes forecasts for the second quarter and for the full year.

Should the growth rate finish above 10 percent, the fourth quarter of 2005 will mark the 10th consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Next week is not a big week in terms of the number of companies reporting, but it is a big week in terms of influential companies reporting.

It has been a pretty strong season for earnings.

Overall, the preannouncement environment is still positive but if this round of warnings continues, that's a red flag,

Overall, companies are topping estimates by about two percent, which is below the long term average of 3.2 percent and the average of the last 8 quarters, which is 5 percent.

Earnings so far have been fairly robust. And if you look at projections, the short-term looks pretty good too.

Energy is certainly the driver of growth in the second quarter, with the sector expected to see year-over-year growth of 41 percent.

It looks like we're on course for an eleventh consecutive quarter of double digit growth.

It's been a very positive quarter so far for tech pre-announcements.

It sounds like a broken record, but companies are still recording solid earnings growth. It's a trend we have been seeing for quite a while.

The numbers are better than what we've seen on average, but it's still early.

No surprise there, with the run up in energy prices.

If you look at technology, for instance, for the S.&P. 500, 14 out of 20 companies that have reported beat the number. But when you have some of the big names lower numbers, it sets the mood for everyone.

The long-term average earnings growth is about 7 percent, ... so mid- to high teens this quarter is still good.