Morgan Stanley still bullish on S&P profits
Morgan Stanley argues corporate earnings resilience and strong consumer demand will outweigh the war‑driven oil shock — a reminder that market headlines and earnings trends can diverge sharply in volatile periods. (m.economictimes.com)
Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s chief investment officer and chief U.S. equity strategist, wrote to clients on March 23 that the firm sees a low probability that the recent oil spike will end the business cycle. (bloomberg.com) Morgan Stanley’s compiled data show S&P 500 earnings are expected to rise about 20% over the next 12 months, a reading the bank says has historically appeared mainly as economies emerged from recessions. (bloomberg.com) Bloomberg Intelligence’s aggregation cited by Morgan Stanley puts S&P 500 profit growth for the three months through March at 11.9%, up from a pre-conflict estimate of 10.9%. (bloomberg.com) Analysts’ consensus earnings and sales forecasts for the next three quarters have been revised up by roughly 1.9% and 1.5% respectively, according to the BI figures highlighted in Morgan Stanley’s note. (bloomberg.com) Morgan Stanley’s data show a rare disconnect: profit outlooks have been revised higher even as the S&P 500 has declined, and the firm notes historical episodes with that pattern typically preceded strong U.S. stock performance. (bloomberg.com) Morgan Stanley’s tactical preferences include tilting toward high‑quality large caps and sector exposures that have shown resilient pricing power—analysts have flagged Financials, Media & Entertainment and Software among the sectors with the most favorable EPS revision trends. (morningstar.com)
