Guidance analysis reveals ongoing uncertainty

Q1 earnings saw an unprecedented volume of companies withdrawing guidance due to ongoing market disruptions resulting from COVID-19. As Q2 earnings wraps up, management positions continue to reflect the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the continued pandemic response.

This quarter, however, we began to see some companies reinstating previously withdrawn guidance, while others maintained their ambiguous position and declined to provide quarterly or annual guidance.

To understand which companies have been commenting on guidance and what positions they’ve taken over time, take a look at company commentary we’ve compiled below.

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Overall, about 50% of the companies we analyzed provided guidance. The Consumer Discretionary and Real Estate sectors are not providing guidance at higher rates than other sectors. Energy, Financials and Materials companies appeared more confident, sharing guidance at higher rates.

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Takeaways:

  • Since the huge spike in guidance withdrawals this Spring, companies have taken different approaches to providing guidance Q2 earnings, with a near even split between companies providing guidance and those declining to do so
  • Consumer Discretionary companies declined to provide guidance most often, accounting for 19% of companies not providing guidance this quarter
  • Information Technology companies account for 17% of companies declining to provide guidance and 24% of companies sharing guidance this quarter, showing a split in confidence across the sector
  • Lockheed Martin, KeyCorp, Iqvia and others increased guidance after tailwinds from COVID demand showed better-than-expected results
  • Some companies, including 3M, are no longer providing quarterly or annual guidance are updating investors monthly instead

AlphaSense can track management commentary on guidance in real-time across the entire market, by industry, or watchlist. Start your free trial of AlphaSense now or login to your account.

See the non-exhaustive list of companies with a $5B+ market cap and their Q2 updates on guidance below:

Company GICS Date of Original Status Update Status Q2 Update
Slack Technologies, Inc. Class A Information Technology

6/4

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Pan American Silver Corp. Materials

6/1

Withdraw Provided guidance
Singapore Telecommunications Limited Communication Services

5/27

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Dentsu Group Inc. Communication Services

5/27

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Anaplan, Inc. Information Technology

5/26

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Koc Holding A.S. Industrials

5/22

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Hormel Foods Corporation Consumer Staples

5/21

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Nordson Corporation Industrials

5/20

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Walmart Inc. Consumer Staples

5/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
D.R. Horton, Inc. Consumer Discretionary

5/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Poste Italiane SpA Financials

5/13

Withdraw Not providing guidance
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Materials

5/11

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Genpact Limited Information Technology

5/11

Withdraw Provided guidance
Continental Resources, Inc. Energy

5/11

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Credicorp Ltd. Financials

5/8

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp Materials

5/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
WEX Inc. Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Waste Connections, Inc. Industrials

5/7

Withdraw Provided Guidance
Universal Display Corporation Industrials

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
UDR, Inc. Real Estate

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Trade Desk, Inc. Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
TELUS Corporation Communication Services

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Motorola Solutions, Inc. Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
Intuit Inc. Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Guardant Health, Inc. Healthcare

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
FleetCor Technologies, Inc. Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Fiserv, Inc. Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Cognizant Technology Solutions Information Technology

5/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
Becton, Dickinson and Company Healthcare

5/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
Wolters Kluwer NV Industrials

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Waste Management, Inc. Industrials

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
Twilio, Inc. Information Technology

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, S.A. Industrials

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
PPD, Inc. Healthcare

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
PayPal Holdings Inc Information Technology

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
Invitation Homes, Inc. Real Estate

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Fortinet, Inc. Information Technology

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
FLIR Systems, Inc. Information Technology

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Extra Space Storage Inc. Real Estate

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Essex Property Trust, Inc. Real Estate

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Corteva Inc Materials

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
Ceridian HCM Holding, Inc. Information Technology

5/6

Withdraw Provided guidance
CenturyLink, Inc. Communication Services

5/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
TransDigm Group Incorporated Industrials

5/5

Withdraw Not providing guidance
PerkinElmer, Inc. Healthcare

5/5

Withdraw Provided guidance
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation Industrials

5/4

Withdraw Provided guidance
Honeywell International Inc. Industrials

5/1

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Colgate-Palmolive Company Consumer Staples

5/1

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Co. Financials

4/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Teleflex Incorporated Healthcare

4/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Pentair plc Industrials

4/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
Lloyds Banking Group plc Financials

4/30

Withdraw Provided Guidance
Kilroy Realty Corporation Real Estate

4/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
International Paper Company Materials

4/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. Healthcare

4/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Eaton Corp. Plc Industrials

4/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
DSV Panalpina A/S Transportation

4/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
Church & Dwight Co., Inc. Consumer Staples

4/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
Altria Group Inc Consumer Staples

4/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
CACI International Information Technology

4/30

Hold Provided guidance
Yum! Brands, Inc. Consumer Discretionary

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Tyler Technologies, Inc. Information Technology

4/29

Withdraw Provided guidance
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Healthcare

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Klepierre SA Real Estate

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Humana Inc. Healthcare

4/29

Withdraw Provided guidance
Fair Isaac Corporation Information Technology

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Donaldson Company, Inc. Industrials

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
BASF SE Materials

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Anthem, Inc. Healthcare

4/29

Withdraw Provided guidance
Align Technology, Inc. Healthcare

4/29

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Zebra Technologies Information Technology

4/28

Withdraw Provided guidance
Waters Corporation Healthcare

4/28

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Universal Health Services Healthcare

4/28

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Trans Union Industrials

4/28

Withdraw Not providing guidance
SiriusXM Communication Services

4/28

Withdraw Provided guidance
Paycom Software, Inc. Information Technology

4/28

Withdraw Provided guidance
ONEOK, Inc. Energy

4/28

Withdraw Provided guidance
Mondelez International, Inc. Class A Consumer Staples

4/28

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Juniper Networks, Inc. Information Technology

4/28

Withdraw Provided guidance
Caterpillar Inc. Industrials

4/28

Withdraw Not providing guidance
3M Industrials

4/28

Withdraw Provided guidance
Novartis Healthcare

4/28

Hold Provided guidance
Pfizer Healthcare

4/28

Adjustments Provided guidance
Merck & Co Healthcare

4/28

Adjustments Provided guidance
Verizon Communication Services

4/24

Withdraw Provided guidance
PulteGroup, Inc. Consumer Discretionary

4/23

Withdraw Provided guidance
Eli Lilly Healthcare

4/23

Adjustments Provided guidance
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Healthcare

4/22

Withdraw Provided guidance
Kimberly-Clark Corporation Consumer Staples

4/22

Withdraw Provided guidance
Lyft Inc Industrials

4/21

Withdraw Not providing guidance
HCA Healthcare Inc Healthcare

4/21

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Entegris, Inc. Information Technology

4/21

Withdraw Provided guidance
Dover Corp Industrials

4/21

Withdraw Provided guidance
Carlisle Companies Incorporated Industrials

4/21

Withdraw Provided guidance
Atos SE Information Technology

4/21

Withdraw Provided guidance
Philip Morris Consumer Staples

4/21

Adjustments Provided guidance
Lockheed Martin Industrials

4/21

Adjustments Provided guidance
Emerson Electric Energy

4/21

Adjustments Provided guidance
Vale SA Materials

4/20

Withdraw Provided guidance
IBM Information Technology

4/20

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Equifax Inc Industrials

4/20

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Kansas City Southen Industrials

4/17

Withdraw Provided guidance
Volkswagen Industrials

4/16

Withdraw Provided guidance
Sonoco Materials

4/16

Withdraw Provided guidance
Keycorp Financials

4/16

Withdraw Provided guidance
CDW Information Technology

4/16

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Abbott Healthcare

4/16

Withdraw Provided guidance
Camden Property Trust Real Estate

4/15

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Howmet Aerospace Industrials

4/14

Withdraw Provided guidance
Roku Communication Services

4/13

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Mettler-Toledo International Healthcare

4/13

Withdraw Provided guidance
FIS Information Technology

4/13

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Agilent Technologies Healthcare

4/13

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Advance Auto Parts Consumer Discretionary

4/10

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Realty Income Real Estate

4/9

Withdraw Provided guidance
EPAM Information Technology

4/9

Withdraw Provided guidance
Diageo Consumer Discretionary

4/9

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Allegion Industrials

4/9

Withdraw Provided guidance
FactSet Financials

4/9

Hold Provided guidance
Starbuck’s Consumer Discretionary

4/8

Withdraw Provided guidance
Masco Industrials

4/8

Withdraw Provided guidance
Heineken Consumer Staples

4/8

Withdraw Not providing guidance
SAP Information Technology

4/8

Adjustments Provided guidance
Pinterest Communication Services

4/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
Hologic Healthcare

4/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
Henkel AG Consumer Staples

4/7

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Deutsche Post Industrials

4/7

Withdraw Provided guidance
Zimmer Biomet Healthcare

4/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Thermo Fischer Scientific Healthcare

4/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Penumbra Healthcare

4/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Henry Schein Healthcare

4/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Global Payments Inc Information Technology

4/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Genuine Parts Consumer Discretionary

4/6

Withdraw Not providing guidance
HP Information Technology

4/6

Uncertain Provided guidance
Service Corp International Consumer Discretionary

4/3

Withdraw Provided guidance
RTL Group Communication Services

4/3

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Carrier Industrials

4/3

Withdraw Provided guidance
Bae Systems Industrials

4/3

Uncertain Provided guidance
Iqvia Healthcare

4/3

Adjustments Provided guidance
Textron Industrials

4/2

Withdraw Provided guidance
Stanley Black & Decker Industrials

4/2

Withdraw Not providing guidance
GoDaddy Information Technology

4/2

Withdraw Provided guidance
Etsy Consumer Discretionary

4/2

Withdraw Provided guidance
National Grid Utilities

4/2

Hold Provided guidance
T-Mobile Communication Services

4/1

Withdraw Provided guidance
Shopify Information Technology

4/1

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Lamb Weston Consumer Staples

4/1

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Kinross Gold Materials

4/1

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Continental AG Industrials

4/1

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Masimo Corp Healthcare

4/1

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Kroger Co Consumer Staples

4/1

Hold Not providing guidance
Xylem Industrials

3/31

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Stryker Healthcare

3/31

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Munich Re Financials

3/31

Withdraw Provided guidance
McCormick Consumer Staples

3/31

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Dollar Tree Consumer Discretionary

3/31

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Imperial Oil Energy

3/31

Adjustments Not providing guidance
Conagra Consumer Staples

3/31

Adjustments Provided guidance
UPM Materials

3/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
Netapp Information Technology

3/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. Consumer Discretionary

3/30

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Boston Scientific Healthcare

3/30

Withdraw Provided guidance
Smith & Nephew Healthcare

3/30

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Abb Ltd Industrials

3/30

Uncertain Provided guidance
QBE Insurance Financials

3/29

Withdraw Provided guidance
Western Union Information Technology

3/27

Withdraw Provided guidance
Molson Coors Consumer Staples

3/27

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Bruker Healthcare

3/27

Withdraw Not providing guidance
VMWare Information Technology

3/26

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Umicore Materials

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
Scout24 AG Communication Services

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
MTU Aero Engines Industrials

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
Magna International Consumer Discretionary

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
Lululemon Consumer Discretionary

3/26

Withdraw Not providing guidance
LKQ Corp Consumer Discretionary

3/26

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Infineon Information Technology

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
Dell

Information Technology

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
Analog Devices Information Technology

3/26

Withdraw Provided guidance
Ugi Corp Utilities

3/26

Uncertain Provided guidance
Telia Communication Services

3/26

Uncertain Provided guidance
Splunk Information Technology

3/26

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Kion group Industrials

3/26

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Novo Nordisk Healthcare

3/26

Hold Provided Guidance
Paychex Inc Information Technology

3/26

Adjustments Provided Guidance
Whirlpool Consumer Discretionary

3/25

Withdraw Not providing guidance
SunPower Corp Information Technology

3/25

Withdraw Provided Guidance
Mid America Apartment Communities Real Estate

3/25

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Nike Consumer Discretionary

3/25

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Square Financials

3/24

Withdraw Not providing guidance
GM Industrials

3/24

Withdraw Not providing guidance
elanco Healthcare

3/24

Withdraw Provided Guidance
Agnico Eagle Mines Materials

3/24

Withdraw Provided Guidance
Suncor Energy

3/24

Adjustments Provided Guidance
IHS Markit Industrials

3/24

Adjustments Provided Guidance
Chevron Energy

3/24

Adjustments Provided Guidance
Unibail-Rodamco Real Estate

3/23

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Newmont Materials

3/23

Withdraw Provided guidance
Deere & Co Industrials

3/23

Withdraw Provided guidance
Cummins Industrials

3/23

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Best Buy Consumer Discretionary

3/23

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Sysco Consumer Staples

3/20

Withdraw Not providing guidance
RPM Materials

3/20

Withdraw Not providing guidance
BMW Consumer Discretionary

3/20

Adjustments Provided guidance
Target Consumer Discretionary

3/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Ford Industrials

3/19

Withdraw Provided guidance
Exact Sciences Healthcare

3/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Darden Restaurant Consumer Discretionary

3/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Cintas Industrials

3/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Burlington Stores Consumer Discretionary

3/19

Withdraw Not providing guidance
KDP Consumer Staples

3/19

Adjustments Provided guidance
ConocoPhillips Energy

3/18

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Tapestry Consumer Discretionary

3/18

Adjustments Not providing guidance
General Mills Inc Consumer Staples

3/18

Adjustments Not providing guidance
Lam Research Information Technology

3/17

Withdraw Provided guidance
Capri Consumer Discretionary

3/17

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Baxter Healthcare

3/17

Uncertain Provided guidance
Broadcom Inc Information Technology

3/12

Withdraw Provided guidance
Ulta Beauty Consumer Discretionary

3/12

Uncertain Not providing guidance
Gap Consumer Discretionary

3/12

Uncertain Not providing guidance
TransUnion Industrials

3/12

Hold Provided Guidance
Parker-Hannifin Industrials

3/12

Hold Provided guidance
CVS Healthcare

3/12

Hold Provided guidance
Huntington Bancshares Financials

3/11

Uncertain Provided guidance
Sherwin Williams Materials

3/11

Hold Provided guidance
Cigna Healthcare

3/11

Hold Provided guidance
Moody’s Financials

3/11

Adjustments Provided guidance
Royal Caribbean Consumer Discretionary

3/10

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Delta Air Lines Inc Industrials

3/10

Withdraw Not providing guidance
The Cooper Companies Inc Healthcare

3/10

Hold Not providing guidance
Anthem Inc Healthcare

3/10

Hold Provided guidance
Host Hotels Consumer Discretionary

3/9

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Bookings Holdings Consumer Discretionary

3/9

Withdraw Not providing guidance
Advanced Micro Devices Inc Information Technology

3/5

Hold Provided guidance
Marvell Technology Information Technology

3/5

Adjustments Provided guidance
Home Depot Consumer Discretionary

3/4

Hold Not providing guidance
Brown-Forman Consumer Staples

3/4

Adjustments Not providing guidance
United Rentals Industrials

3/3

Withdraw Provided guidance
Qorvo Information Technology

3/3

Adjustments Provided guidance
Microchip Technology Information Technology

3/2

Withdraw Provided guidance
Fidelity National Information Services Information Technology

3/2

Hold Not providing guidance
Nutanix Information Technology

3/2

Adjustments Not providing guidance
Apple Information Technology

2/18

Adjustments Not providing guidance

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AlphaSense
AlphaSense

AlphaSense is a market intelligence platform used by the world’s leading companies and financial institutions. Since 2011, our AI-based technology has helped professionals make smarter business decisions by delivering insights from an extensive universe of public and private content—including company filings, event transcripts, news, trade journals, expert calls, broker reports, and equity research. Our platform is trusted by over 2,000 enterprise customers, including a majority of the S&P 100. Headquartered in New York City, AlphaSense employs over 1,000 people across offices in the U.S., U.K., Finland, Germany, and India.

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