By Sam Boughedda
While the earnings season was not as bad as first feared, it showed cracks in corporate fundamentals, according to JPMorgan analysts on Thursday.
"EPS revisions continued to move to the downside with 2023 EPS revised down by ~$8 YTD to ~$222," the analysts wrote in a note to clients.
They added that the rising cost of capital remains a key concern for corporates, with a growing number of small caps, which are particularly sensitive to higher rates, have flagged rising interest expense as a key margin headwind.
"Even though Large cap balance sheets remain healthy to date, Small caps and the private sector could see material deterioration from higher rates with the risk of those issues ultimately permeating into Large caps in the form of lost demand, lower margins, and/or asset write-downs/credit losses," the analysts added.
JPMorgan continues to expect $205 EPS for 2023 and sees earnings expectations as remaining elevated going into the second half of the year.
"In our view, 2H23 earnings expectations remain a high bar for corporates to clear given sticky labor costs, rising cost of capital pressures, and risk of demand slowing in the latter part of this year," the analysts concluded.