GOOGL Fueled S&P 500 Q2 EPS Growth, but Carson Research Says Its Blowout Quarter Came With a Catch - Alph

While headline S&P 500 second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) growth surged to 37.9%, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) boosted that figure by 12 percentage points—and Carson Investment Research warns that the tech giant’s fine print tells a very different story.

The 12-Point Market Distortion

According to a weekly earnings report by Carson Investment Research analyst Harry McDonald, blended EPS growth for the S&P 500 jumped 13 percentage points in just five trading days. Alphabet alone accounted for “92% of the net dollar-level increase in S&P 500 earnings over that stretch.”

Stripping out the tech giant reveals a significant shift in index fundamentals. Without Alphabet, blended earnings growth falls from 37.9% to 25.9%.

Furthermore, the record S&P 500 net profit margin drops from 15.7% to 14.4%, and the aggregate earnings surprise collapses from 39.3% to 12.6%.