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Earnings or Unemployment Report – April 2023

Highlights

Figure 1 – Most aggressive Fed hiking cycle ever. Note: As of Jan. 16, 2023. Source: RBC Global Asset Management

Higher cost of capital should continue to affect earnings moving forward.

Figure 2 – S&P 500 EPS. Source: Bloomberg

Figure 3 – Select Russell 3000 Exposure to Debt Maturity by Market Cap. Source: Bloomberg

Figure 4 – Select Russell 3000 Exposure to Debt Maturity by # of Companies. Source: Bloomberg

Figure 5 – Corporate sentiment on Cost of Capital. Source: JP Morgan Equity Macro Research

EPS should continue to decline with margins and layoffs will likely follow suit.

Figure 6 – S&P 500 financial and employee data. Source: Bloomberg

Figure 7 – S&P 500 EPS growth yoy and U.S. unemployment rate. Source: Bloomberg

Unless noted otherwise, information and charts used in this commentary were obtained via Bloomberg L.P.

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[1] Riopelle, Sarah. “Navigating the Path Forward in 2023.” RBC Global Asset Management, Jan. 2023, https://www.rbcgam.com/en/ca/article/navigating-the-path-forward-in-2023/detail.

[2] Lakos-Bujas, Dubravko. “US Equity Strategy: The Cost of Higher for Longer.” J.P. Morgan, 27 Feb. 2023.

[3] Lakos-Bujas, Dubravko. “US Equity Strategy: Earnings Overview, Cost of Capital a Growing Concern.” J.P. Morgan, 9 Mar. 2023.