S&P500 Tracker

This chart report plots revenue vs earnings per share over a four-quarter time frame for each of the eleven categories including the index. Note: all series in the charts are aggregated, unweighted amounts.

A tangible benefit in my opinion is the S&P500 index chart, which could be a proxy for US GDP since the aggregate value of its revenue over the preceding year amounts to nearly seventy percent of US GDP and is not skewed by adjustments and other factors. Just the bottom-line total sales, income, and revenue across a broad spectrum of the economy.

The deciding factor if a company in the S&P500 index does or does not pay a divided, is stated in their dividend policy and it goes something like: “We currently do/do not anticipate declaring any cash or stock dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any declaration of dividends will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend upon the earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to payment of dividends and other factors.” Taking from this, it is reasonable to assume that if dividends are being paid and increasing (for individual companies or in aggregate for an index), then the outlook is good. Likewise, if dividends are decreasing or suspended, the outlook may not be so good. Take for example the pandemic when so many companies suspended their dividend, some are still suspended to the present time.

Also, the dividends used in the charts are declared, unless paid dividends are provided.

S&P500 Tracker takes a popular metric, the P/E ratio and presents it in the form of a graph of the aggregate share price vs the aggregate earnings per share over a four-quarter time period. These two series for the most part track each other, but on occasion, they will diverge. This is not trading advice, but it is interesting to observe how eventually they converge again. The reason I don’t advise trading when share price – earnings per share diverge is because of the old saying, “the markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent!”

A detailed list of companies, categorized by industries and subsectors can be downloaded directly from this site. Metrics provided for each company include: revenues (current/last quarter/last year), earning per share (current/last quarter/last year), p/e ratios and dividend yields if available. In addition, the report’s release date to the public is included. Even though a company’s earnings call happens before the report is released, it can still be helpful to view a company’s performance compared to its peers and its index over various time periods.