Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), Dell Inc. (DELL): 3 Key Takeaways From S&P Earnings

3. Pessimism continues for the second quarter.
After seeing better-than-expected first-quarter results, analysts have taken the opportunity to mark down their views on where the second quarter will land. Now, calls are for earnings growth of just 1.3%, down from 4.5% as of March 31. With more than 80% of all preannouncements covering the second quarter having been negative thus far, companies are doing their best to once again set the bar low to improve their odds of eventually topping lowered expectations.

Stay tuned
First-quarter earnings season is in the books, but in only a month, it’ll be time to focus on the next quarter. Take this lull as an opportunity to become get a longer-term perspective on the stocks you follow, and you’ll be in much better position to assess what quarterly results really mean in the big picture.

The article 3 Key Takeaways From S&P Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter: @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com and Southwest Airlines and owns shares of Amazon.com.

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