View from the Observation Deck 

1. Today's blog post provides investors with a three-year look into the expected revenue growth rates of the companies that comprise the S&P 500 Index.
2. On 12/30/16, the S&P 500 Index closed the year at 2,238.83, or 1.45% below its all-time high of 2,271.72, set on 12/13/16, according to Bloomberg.
3. As indicated in the chart, as of 12/23/16, the estimated revenue growth rate for the S&P 500 Index for 2016 was 1.8%. When you exclude Energy, the rate bumps to 2.8% (not shown in chart), according to Bloomberg.
4. Energy, Materials, and Industrials, which had negative growth rate estimates for 2016, are expected to rebound in 2017. Energy revenues are expected to surge year-over-year (y-o-y) in 2017.
5. Estimates for the S&P 500 Index and 8 of the 11 major sectors that comprise the index reflect stronger y-o-y revenue growth for 2017. 
6. The forecast for revenue growth is relatively optimistic, in our opinion.

This chart is for illustrative purposes only and not indicative of any actual investment. There can be no assurance that any of the projections cited will occur. The illustration excludes the effects of taxes and brokerage commissions or other expenses incurred when investing. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. The S&P 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index comprised of 500 stocks used to measure large-cap U.S. stock market performance, while the 11 major S&P 500 Sector Indices are capitalization-weighted and comprised of S&P 500 constituents representing a specific sector.

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