The energy sector, known for its extreme boom-bust cycles, is booming again. Perhaps this time, the industry won’t blow it, at least not too soon. This earnings season, we’re discovering just how important energy’s fortunes are to the S&P 500’s overall performance.

Energy’s disproportionate contribution…

For the third quarter of 2022, with 91% of S&P 500 companies reporting actual results, the blended year-over-year earnings growth rate is 2.2%. Among companies that have reported, 69% have reported a positive earnings surprise and 71% have reported a positive revenue surprise.

Corporate earnings ostensibly have held their own, but there’s an important caveat you need to recognize: the energy sector is disproportionately skewing the results to the positive side. If this sector were excluded from the all-sector tally, the S&P 500 would be reporting a decline in earnings of 5.3% rather than growth in earnings of 2.2%.

The energy sector has, by far, reported the highest year-over-year earnings growth of all 11 S&P 500 sectors, at 137.3%. Higher year-over-year oil prices contributed to the spectacular earnings growth for the sector. The average per-barrel price of oil in Q3 2022 ($91.43) was 30% above the average price for oil in Q3 2021 ($70.52).

Not surprisingly, the energy sector has vastly outperformed the other 10 sectors (see chart).

Despite the big run-up in energy equity prices this year, you can still find bargains in beaten-down subsectors such as master limited partnerships (MLPs).

Read This Story: Why Energy Stocks May Be Worth Buying on Price Dips

MLP price performance is not as sensitive to interest rate movements and/or inflation as commonly perceived. While sudden spikes in interest rates have caused declines in MLP price performance, historically over the long haul there has been only a slight correlation between MLP price performance and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has declined more than 30 basis points over the last week as inflation numbers come in much cooler than expected. Oil prices have been volatile, moving up or down based on economic reports and geopolitical developments, but the per-barrel price has been range-bound hovering around $85/bbl.

News out of China has directly affected oil prices. The country’s slowing economy and strict COVID policies have weighed on crude, although in recent days, Beijing’s easing of those curbs has provided a tailwind for expected energy demand and hence oil prices.

On Thursday, the major U.S. stock market indices closed in negative territory, largely due to hawkish comments in the morning by St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard. The final tally:

• DJIA: -0.02%
• S&P 500: -0.31%
• NASDAQ: -0.35%
• Russell 2000: -0.76%

As Q3 earnings results continue to come in, we’ll see if the energy boom and the stock market rally have momentum. The latest report on leading economic indicators, scheduled for release this Friday, will provide important clues. Regardless, volatility is here to stay.

Editor’s Note: How can you hedge your portfolio against the risks I’ve just described, and still enhance gains? Consider the advice of my colleague Jim Fink.

Jim Fink is chief investment strategist of Options for Income, Velocity Trader, and Jim Fink’s Inner Circle. Jim’s investment methods have enabled him to take his life’s savings of $50,000, turn the amount into $5 million, and retire early at age 37.

Jim has been sharing his trading secrets for over a decade, giving regular investors not just one, but two different opportunities to get paid every single week. In fact, while the market tanked several times over the last few years, he hasn’t closed out a single losing trade.

To learn more about Jim Fink’s money-making methods, click here.

John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily. You can reach John at: mailbag@investingdaily.com

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