Profits for S&P 500 companies have climbed to more than $100 a share from about $60 in 2008. They’re forecast to increase 9.7 percent next year, almost twice the growth rate for 2013, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. At the same time, revenue will pick up, climbing 3.8 percent in 2014, compared with 2.2 percent this year.

GDP Growth

Gross domestic product will expand 2.6 percent next year, up from 1.7 percent in 2013, according to the median of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate fell to 7 percent in November, a five-year low, as weekly jobless claims held below 400,000 all year. The Fed cited the “improvement in the outlook for labor conditions” when it said Dec. 18 that it would cut stimulus by $10 billion next month. The S&P 500 set a new high that day.

“It’s a sign of recognition that things are on the upswing and the outlook is pretty good for this coming year,” John Carey, a fund manager at Pioneer, said in a Dec. 18 telephone interview. “We can go back to thinking about corporate earnings and other things now that this to taper or not to taper debate is concluded.”

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