S&P 500 4Q 2017 Telecom Earnings Uniformly Below Expectations

It is just a snapshot, but the telecom segment of the Standard & Poors 500 Index faired absolute dead last among industry segments where it came to earnings that were above expectations in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Perhaps no single market is experiencing greater shocks than the Indian telecom market, as rapid consolidation is following dramatically-lower earnings. Vodafone saw a 39-percent drop in profits in the first half of 2017. Bharti Airtel profit dropped 39 percent (77 percent consolidated net profit) in the third quarter.

In Europe, it appears that profit is stabilizing, if there is little revenue growth.

Source: @FactSet

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