This could be a big week for energy sector exchange traded funds as Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) are set to report earnings Friday, July 28.
However, it may not be all good news. The current earnings-per-share estimate for XOM for Q2 2017 is $0.84, or below the mean EPS estimate of $0.89 on June 30 and below the mean EPS estimate of $0.99 on March 31, writes John Butters for FactSet. Additionally, the current mean EPS estimate for CVX for Q2 2017 is $0.86, compared to the mean EPS estimate of $0.89 on June 30 and below the mean EPS estimate of $1.13 on March 31.
This may spell trouble for the Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLE), the largest equity-based energy exchange traded fund, which has a 22.3% tilt toward XOM and 15.7% CVX.
Traders have increasingly lowered expectations on the energy sector this earnings season. Since Jun 30, 25 of 34 energy companies in the S&P 500 have recorded a decline in their mean EPS estimate for the second quarter.
“As a result, the earnings growth rate for this sector has fallen to 332.1% today from 390.5% on June 30. This marks the largest drop in earnings growth of all eleven sectors since the end of the second quarter,” Butters said.