With third-quarter earnings season in the books, it's safe to say it was a productive one as earnings per share growth among S&P 500 member firms reached 12.9%, easily topping the 8% increase expected by analysts.
I maintain a Hold rating on the WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Fund ETF. EPS tracks the index that puts emphasis on earnings instead of market cap, securing slightly better valuation characteristics. With a value tilt, EPS has been quite slow in capturing the market's upside, which resulted in it underperforming IVV this year, over the last five years, and since inception.
WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Fund ETF holds about 500 large caps weighted on earnings. Compared to SPY, the EPS ETF has lower weight in technology, better value, higher dividend growth, and lower historical return. EPS has outperformed major large cap value ETFs for more than a decade.
The WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap 500 Fund ETF (EPS) offers value-oriented exposure to U.S. large-cap companies using an earnings-weighted methodology, mitigating high valuations seen in broader equity indexes. EPS has historically underperformed relative to indexes like the Russell 1000 and S&P 500. EPS's sector allocation is heavily weighted towards technology and communication services, with lower allocations in healthcare and industrials compared to peers.
With less than two weeks left in September, the third quarter is near its end. That means another earnings season is right around the corner.
WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Fund weights by earnings, not market cap, offering exposure to profitable companies. The EPS ETF holds familiar names like Microsoft, Apple, and Alphabet with a more balanced sector allocation than the S&P 500. The fund underperformed the S&P 500 over the past 10 years, but low expense ratio and fundamentally weighted approach make it worth considering.
Second-quarter earnings kicked off last Friday with reports from some of the largest U.S. banks. That's merely the start of what will be an earnings avalanche over the next several weeks.
The S&P 500 has surged approximately 17% this year due to an AI rally. However, earnings momentum in other sectors is also improving.
We present five ETFs expected to benefit more than others in the second half given their solid fundamentals and bullish trends.