“Mr. Market,” who Benjamin Graham famously described as “cray-cray” (that’s not exactly how he put it, but that’s the gist of the parable in Chapter 8 of The Intelligent Investor), is rewarding earnings beats by one of the widest margins of the post-pandemic era.

With 60% of the S&P 500 on the books prior to Apple’s Monday report, the median company that managed an EPS beat versus consensus bested the cap-weighted index by more than 150bps the next trading day.

That counts among the best post-earnings rewards since the rebound from the pandemic, and it’s more than half a percentage point above the long run median.

The figure below shows you the breakdown by sector. Note who hasn’t been rewarded.

The median excess return for TMT stocks following an earnings beat this reporting season is -76bps. For non-TMT stocks, it’s +1.72ppt.

If you’re curious as to why the S&P came into November riding a three-week losing streak, that’s your answer.

“While most companies have traded well following earnings reports this season, the concentration of market cap in TMT has weighed on the aggregate index,” Goldman’s Ben Snider remarked.

There’s the chart. The red annotation covers Q3 reporting season.

“Since the start of Q3 earnings, 70% of S&P 500 companies have posted positive returns, but these companies have accounted for just 50% of S&P 500 market cap,” Snider went on. “As a result, the index has declined by 3% while the S&P 500 ex. AI has risen by 5%.”

So, when it comes to narrow market laments and the implicit contention that we’d be better off with broader participation, be careful what you wish for.