Under Mr. Schacht and after his departure, Lucent exceeded profit forecasts for 15 consecutive quarters -- a string that ended this year.
Without the one-time losses, the company would have exceeded profit forecasts by 6 cents a share.
With 6 percent of S.& P. 500 companies having reported, 55 percent have exceeded profit expectations, below the historical average.
Boeing on Wednesday exceeded profit expectations for the second quarter as a result of more plane sales, a development that helped it raise its 2011 earnings guidance.
Mr. Mehling consistently exceeded profit goals for Monitor Capital Advisors and just six days before he was fired, he received a raise, a $147,000 bonus and a glowing review from Seymour Sternberg, chief executive of New York Life, one of the nation's largest life insurance companies.
During the late 20th century, however, extraction costs in many mines began to exceed profits.
On the other hand, net profits from management with the use of sheepdogs (Figure 3) gradually come to exceed profits gained from management without sheepdogs.
If market valuations contract, corporate America could still keep the rally going by meeting and exceeding profit expectations, he said.
