This earnings season it’s third-quarter guidance that counts

Ok, everyone knows that second quarter earnings, the earnings that companies are reporting right now, are going to be dismal. Overall earnings for the S&P 500 stocks are expected to fall 4.5% year over year. Earnings for technology stocks are expected to be even worse with a year over year decline of 7.4%. But that dismal forecast is by now old news. And a stock market that heads for new highs every day is clearly looking forward to a recovery in the third quarter