A Quarter Of All S&P 500 Companies Have Pulled Outlooks So Far

With the economy – and the future of corporate profits – now one giant question mark, more and more U.S. companies are pulling financial guidance as the spread of the coronavirus and subsequent rolling breakdown of economies around the world render previously issued forecasts moot.

According to calculations from Bloomberg’s Crystal Kim, at least 25 companies joined the list of firms withdrawing guidance over the past week with the reporting season unfolding. Since the start of the year, at least 130 firms, or 26% of S&P 500 constituents, have pulled or reneged on their quarterly or full-year projections for sales or earnings. That compared with zero withdrawals for all of 2019.

Consumer-discretionary companies have taken the biggest hit, with more than 61% of them scrapping outlooks as the virus outbreak has forced retail stores and restaurants to close. From airlines to chipmakers, few industries have been spared as the pandemic disrupts global supply chains and hurts demand in an economy that according to some economists is heading for its worst recession in decades.

Investors are taking notice, punishing companies unable to stick to their forecasts.  Shares of those that withdrew guidance are down 29% year-to-date, on average, relative to the broad index’s 11% decline over the same period.

Below, courtesy of Bloomberg, is a list of companies that have withdrawn their sales or earnings guidance

Consumer Discretionary:

Advance Auto Parts Inc., Alaska Air Group Inc., American Airlines Group Inc., Aptiv PLC, Best Buy Co., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Cintas Corp., Darden Restaurants Inc., D.R. Horton Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Ford Motor Co., the Gap, General Motors, Genuine Parts Co., H&R Block Inc., Hanesbrands Inc., Harley-Davidson Inc., Hershey Inc., Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., Kohl’s Corp., L Brands Inc., Leggett & Platt Inc., Live Nation Entertainment Inc., LKQ Corp., Macy’s Inc., Marriott International Inc., Masco Corp. McDonald’s Corp., Nordstrom Inc., O’Reilly Automotive Inc., Philip Morris International Inc., Ross Stores Inc., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Southwest Airlines Co., Stanley Black & Decker Inc., Starbucks Corp., TJX Cos Inc., Tractor Supply Company, Under Armour Inc., Ulta Beauty Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc., VF Corp., Whirlpool Corp.

Communications

AT&T, Booking Holdings Inc., Discovery Inc., Expedia Group Inc., Interpublic Group of Cos Inc., Twitter Inc., Viacom Inc., Verizon Communications Inc.

Consumer Staples

Coty Inc., Dollar Tree Inc., Estee Lauder Companies, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Lamb Weston Holdings Inc., McCormick & Co., Molson Coors Beverage Co., Sysco Corp., Target Corp.

Industrials

Allegion, Ametek Inc., Amphenol Corp., Caterpillar Inc., CSX Corp., Cummins Inc., Deere & Co., Dover Corp., FedEx Corp., Flowserve Corp., General Electric Co., Howmet Aerospace Inc., Idex Corp., Pentair PLC, TransDigm Group Inc., WW Grainger Inc., Xylem Inc.

Health Care

Abbott Laboratories, Agilent Technologies Inc., Boston Scientific Corp.,Dentsply Sirona Inc., HCA Healthcare Inc., Henry Schein Inc., Hologic Inc., Illumina Inc., Intuitive Surgical Inc., Mettler-Toledo International, Quest Diagnostics Inc., Stryker Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Zimmer Ziomet Holdings Inc.

Financials

Apartment Investment & Management Co., AvalonBay Communities Inc., Comerica Inc., Federal Realty Investment Trust, Fidelity National Information Services, Fifth Third Bancorp, Healthpeak Properties Inc. Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., Huntington Bancshares, Kimco Realty Corp., MasterCard Inc., Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc., People’s United Financial Inc., Realty Income Corp., Regency Centers Corp., Ventas Inc., Welltower Inc., Western Union Co.

Technology

Alliance Data Systems Corp., Analog Devices Inc., Applied Materials Inc., Broadcom Inc., CDW Corp., Cognizant Technology, Equifax Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Lam Research Corp., Microchip Technology Inc., Netapp Inc., PulteGroup Inc.

Materials

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., DuPont de Nemours Inc., Newmont Corp.

Energy

ConocoPhillips, Noble Energy Inc.

Utilities

NiSource Inc.