As Earnings Season Kicks Off, Expect Higher Profits but No Revenue Growth

Companies are expected to grow profits during third quarter, but not revenue, according to one strategist. ‘We have three-quarters of companies beating earnings per share targets and 50 percent of them beating the revenue growth,’ said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading at derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, based in Austin, Tex. ‘But that’s because the targets keep getting lowered.’ In Frederick’s view, for the economy to get back on track, revenue growth is needed. ‘I don’t think we’re going to see that this quarter,’ he added. So don’t let a company’s Street beat fool you. ‘Even if a company beats its earnings target, if they give cautious guidance, they’ll probably selloff and we saw that in the first and second quarters,’ Frederick added. Third quarter earnings unofficially begin on Thursday, with Alcoa (AA) reporting financial results after the market closes. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.