As of June 30, 2020, most of the companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) have already reported quarterly earnings . The pandemic induced recession and the oil price war waged by Saudi Arabia and Russia have ravaged the earnings of the companies in the index. The first quartile EPS growth rate for the DJIA was a negative 68%. The third quartile EPS growth was just 5%.
Exhibit: Gains from 52-Week Low for Companies in the DJIA
(Source: SECURFII)
Given this earnings back drop the stocks have done remarkably well. The first quartile gain for stocks in the DJIA from their 52-week low was 35%. The third quartile gain was 62%.
Exxon Mobil had the biggest drop in EPS going from $0.53 in the previous quarter to a negative $0.7 in the latest quarter that ended June 2020.
In fact 20 out of their 30 companies in the DJIA recorded negative EPS growth rates.
Exhibit: Earnings of some of the companies in the DJIA
(Source: SECURFII)
(Disclosure: I own XOM, CVX, DOW, and others in the DJIA)
