EPS Downgrades For 81 Straight Weeks, Matching Longest Drop Since 2000

EPS downgrades as measured by Citi’s Earnings Revision Index (ERI) have fallen for 81 straight weeks, matching the 2008-2009 drop in the wake of the financial crisis and beating every other negative streak since 2000. But Equities are up 25% since the current streak of downgrades began in May 2012, with much of the price growth happening this year, and investors are still mostly bullish. Citi’s global strategy team sees three possible reason for the discrepancy. While a negative ERI should be a bad sign, they’ve found a stronger correlation between a falling ERI and low returns (and vice versa)….