Nevertheless, we expect companies to exceed estimates by the typical margin of about 3% for several reasons: –Leading indicators of profit growth, like the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers Index, rose steadily throughout the quarter, and exports were boosted by the declining dollar, with a commensurate rise in analysts' estimates of profits.
Leading indicators of profits have turned up, including the Index of Leading Economic Indicators from the Conference Board, the Institute of Supply Management's Purchasing Managers Index, and the Federal Reserves measure of Capacity Utilization.
"It is a more accurate measure of profits and it's a leading indicator of where profits will go," says Osterweis.
To the extent that oil prices are falling because of slowing global growth the likeliest explanation, despite the flap earlier this year about the role of speculators then they are likely to be an indicator of falling profits across the board.
Capital spending is a lagging indicator of corporate profits and free cash flow, both strong these past 12 months.
Moreover, the country's three leading charity watchdog groups -- GuideStar, Charity Navigator, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance -- recently wrote an open letter to the philanthropic foundations, corporations and individual donors of America denouncing the overhead-to-service ratio as an effective indicator of non-profit performance.
Considering that the analysis of this paper focuses on the trade sectors, the indicator of wholesale and retail profit representing the industry features is also included in the regression.
It is the latest indicator of how Mr. Obama has profited from his books as the reach of his celebrity has grown.
A low tax rate is a potential indicator of trouble: Maybe the low profit reported to the Internal Revenue Service is all too true and the high profit reported to shareholders an exaggeration.
Company profits have traditionally been a good leading indicator of a downturn in GDP: when profits fall, firms cut investment and jobs.
