LONDON (Reuters – Analysts are raising their expectations of Europe’s fourth-quarter earnings season. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number companies announcing results that surpass consensus, according to Refinitiv II/B/E/S.

Companies listed on the pan European equity benchmark will see their earnings rise by 55% in the past three months 2021. This is a sharp upward revision to last week’s prediction of an increase of 51%.

Refinitiv stated that 67.4% reported results on Monday exceeded their expectations. This figure is well over the average quarter’s 52% beat.

Ankit Gheedia is the head of equities at BNP paribas.

He added, “This positive tailwind is for stock markets.”

UBS predicts that Europe’s reporting season will peak within three weeks and more than 72% companies will report their results by February.

Wall Street companies’ earnings are expected to rise at a more modest 25% rate in the fourth quarter, but this is due to the European economy being a bit behind the United States during the COVID-19 recovery cycles.

On Feb. 1, Refinitiv stated that out of the 184 S&P 500 companies which had reported earnings, 78.8% exceeded analyst expectations, well above the historic average of 66%.

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