This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Goldman Sachs said first-quarter earnings growth for the S&P 500 came in near 25%, though investment-related gains at Amazom (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) helped boost the headline reading and overall index results.
Excluding those effects, the bank estimated underlying growth was closer to 16%, pointing to a more moderate pace of profitability across the S&P 500, while Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) still played a notable role in aggregate earnings swings.
Analysts said mega-cap technology companies such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) continue to skew index-level earnings signals within the S&P 500, making it harder to gauge underlying corporate momentum across broader sectors.
Investors are focusing on the sustainability of profit growth as valuations and spending trends are reassessed, with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) remaining key drivers of sentiment and index performance in the S&P 500.
