Key Points: •    Earnings Surprise Ratio (#beat/#miss) at 5.26, almost double normal •    Median Earnings Surprise 7.20%, very strong •    Year-over-year Earnings Growth Ratio (# Pos Growth/# Neg Growth) at 0.80 •    Sales Surprise Ratio at 1.44 •    Sales Growth Ratio at just 0.43 •    Total Net Income for S&P 500 reported so far is 11.1% below what those same 478 firms reported a year ago, 10.3% above what they earned in 2Q09 •    Total S&P 500 Revenues reported so far down 10.9% year over year, up 3.4% from 2Q09 •    2009 Earnings Revisions ratio for full S&P 500 falls to 3.00, down from 3.25 last week, still very high •    2010 ratio at 1.98, down slightly from 2.09 last week •    S&P500 expected to earn $574.1 billion in 2008, $707.3 billion in 2010 •    Bottom Up estimates: $62.57 for 2009, $77.11 for 2010 •    Top Down estimates: $54.38 for ...

Key Points: •    Earnings Surprise Ratio (#beat/#miss) at 5.26, almost double normal •    Median Earnings Surprise 7.20%, very strong •    Year-over-year Earnings Growth Ratio (# Pos Growth/# Neg Growth) at 0.80 •    Sales Surprise Ratio at 1.44 •    Sales Growth Ratio at just 0.43 •    Total Net Income for S&P 500 reported so far is 11.1% below what those same 478 firms reported a year ago, 10.3% above what they earned in 2Q09 •    Total S&P 500 Revenues reported so far down 10.9% year over year, up 3.4% from 2Q09 •    2009 Earnings Revisions ratio for full S&P 500 falls to 3.00, down from 3.25 last week, still very high •    2010 ratio at 1.98, down slightly from 2.09 last week •    S&P500 expected to earn $574.1 billion in 2008, $707.3 billion in 2010 •    Bottom Up estimates: $62.57 for 2009, $77.11 for 2010 •    Top Down estimates: $54.38 for ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 17, 2009 - Zacks Research Equity Strategist, Dirk Van Dijk says that S&P 500 earnings are continuing to show red ink. He tracks companies on the Zacks.com web site, naming names, while forecasting trends for the months ahead.

Great Earnings Season Coming to an End

It’s almost time to close the books on a fantastic earnings season. With over 90% of reports in, there have been 353 which have exceeded expectations while only 66 have fallen short, a ratio of 5.35. While it is true that most companies will normally try to under-promise and over-deliver, this quarter the beats are beating the misses by about twice the normal margin of 3:1.

Nor have all the surprises only been by a penny or two, but there have been lots of companies that simply crushed the earnings estimates. The median surprise is a very

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Key Points: •    Earnings Surprise Ratio (#beat/#miss) at 5.47, almost double normal •    Median Earnings Surprise  7.11%, very strong •    Year over year Earnings Growth Ratio (# Pos Growth/# Neg Growth) at 0.77 •    Sales Surprise Ratio at 1.37 •    Sales Growth Ratio at just 0.40 •    Total Net Income for S&P 500 reported so far is 11.6% below what those same 444 firms reported a year ago, 11.8% above what they earned in the 2Q09 •    Total S&P 500 Revenues reported so far down 13.4% year over year, up 2.0% from 2Q09 •    2009 Earnings Revisions ratio for full S&P 500 up to 3.05, up from 2.48 last week •    2010 ratio at 2.14, down slightly from 2.17 last week •    S&P500 expected to earn $570.6 billion in 2008, $706.8 billion in 2010 •    Bottom Up estimates:  $61.62 for 2009, $76.70 for 2010 •    Top Down estimates: $54.38 ...

VistaPrint N.V.’s (VPRT) first quarter earnings for fiscal year 2010 came in at 29 cents per share. Results were a nickel ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents. The company had earned 18 cents in the year-ago quarter. Results were driven by higher-than-expected revenue increases. Also, key operating metrics remained strong. The company reported a 27% year-over-year increase in revenue to $145.1 million. Gross margin improved 290 basis points from the year-ago quarter to 63.6%. The results were impacted positively by lower shipping costs, including some one-time shipping-related rebates, labor efficiencies, favorable product mix shifts and improved materials pricing, which more than offset higher overhead costs and lower referral revenues. Operating income was $14.4 million, reflecting an increase of 47% from the prior-year period. Operating margin was up 130 basis points to 9.9%. Turning to key metrics, we note that website sessions were ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 29, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Kao (KCRPY), Revlon (REV) and Helen of Troy (HELE).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Dirk van Dijk, CFA.

This week: Staples Turn to Shine

The Consumer Staples sector has the second-best sector rank and the second-best revisions ratio for this year, following only the small and incoherent Conglomerates sector. (Incoherent by their very nature of being conglomerates).

This is largely due to Consumer Staples consistently surprising on the upside in the third-quarter earnings season so far. Among the S&P 500 firms in the sector, there have been 16 positive surprises and only 1 disappointment through last Friday’s close.

Not only that, but the sector is actually producing honest to goodness earnings growth. Nothing

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 22, 2009 - Zacks Research Equity Strategist, Dirk Van Dijk says that S&P 500 earnings are continuing to show red ink. He tracks companies on the Zacks.com web site, naming names, while forecasting trends for the months ahead.

Key Points from Van Dijk's Latest Earnings Assessment Earnings Trends Key Points:

Earnings surprise ratio (#beat / #miss) at 5.56 Median Earnings Surprise 7.90% Year-over-year earnings growth ratio (# Positive Growth/# Negative Growth) at 0.74 Sales surprise ratio at 2.0 Sales growth ratio at just 0.35 Total net income for S&P 500 reported firms is 12.1%. This is above what those same 66 firms reported a year ago and 4.9% above what they earned in Q209 Total S&P 500 revenues reported down 4.7% ...

VistaPrint Limited (VPRT) has been named in Fortune magazine’s global list of the "100 Fastest-Growing Companies." The ranking was published in the August 31 issue of Fortune and is based on three years of revenue and profit growth, in addition to a total shareholder return. VistaPrint ranked 16th overall on this year’s list. Although VistaPrint has only had a short history as a publicly traded company, it has been delivering strong operating results since its inception. Revenues have grown significantly, and margins have held up relatively well along the way. All of the company’s growth has been organic; as a result, the balance sheet remains strong. VistaPrint Limited is the leading online supplier of high-quality graphic design services and customized printed products to small businesses and consumers. The company has a number of advantages over traditional graphic design and print companies in price, convenience, quality and ...

Key Points:

Growth

Third quarter net income expected to be down 22.9% year-over-year Fourth-quarter net ince to more than double from a year ago, but it is all in the Financials Only 160, or 32% of all S&P 500 firms expected to see positive EPS growth in 3Q More than half expected to post positive growth in Q4

Levels

Bottom-up estimate for S&P 500 now $60.73 in 2009 S&P 500 now expected to earn $75.23 in 2010 Top down estimates $53.94 and $68.40, respectively

Revisions

Total estimate increases outnumber cuts by 7:4 for 2009 Upward revisions outnumber cuts by 2:1 for 2010 Revisions ratios for both years slip but still up big from earlier in the year Total revisions activity near seasonal lows For 2009, Tech and Staples lead; Utilities and Telecom lag Materials and Industrials coming on strong for 2010

Valuation

S&P 500 P/E at 17.6x based on 2009 earnings, an earnings uield of 5.69% P/E of 14.2x based on

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Key Points:

Growth Third-quarter net income expected to be down 22.9% year-over-year Fourth quarter net income to more than double from a year ago, but it is all in the Financials Only 159, or 31.8%, of all S&P 500 firms expected to see positive EPS growth in Q3 More than half expected to post positive growth in Q4 levels Bottom-up estimate for S&P 500 now $60.84 in 2009 S&P 500 now expected to earn $75.23 in 2010 Top down estimates are $53.94 and $68.40, respectively

Revisions Total estimate increases outnumber cuts by almost 2:1 for 2009 Upward revisions outnumber cuts by more than 2:1 for 2010 Revisions ratios for both years have risen consistently for last 3 months For 2009, Tech and Staples lead; Utilities and Telecom lag Materials also look good for both years

Valuation S&P 500 P/E at 17.1x based on 2009 earnings, an earnings yield of 5.83% P/E of 13.9x based on 2010 Earnings, an earnings yield of 7.22% Earnings yields are

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