corporate america’s initial stretch of earnings releases delivered results that surpassed the historical norm for the quarter’s kickoff paving the way for a “solid” season according to bank of america corp after last week’s announcements 30 sp 500 index companies accounting for an 11 sliver of earnings have reported the bank said in a note monday the group highlighted by banking titans including jpmorgan chase  co saw 77 of firms beating on earnings per share according to bofa while that’s down from last quarter’s 90 for the comparable span it exceeds the historical level of 67 in bofa’s analysis the early batch of results while mixed leave the quarter on track with where consensus expectations stood at the start of july and with their strategists calling for “a solid 3 beat” on earnings the bank said this month it expect a “trough” in profits in the second quarter “it’s hard to tell whether those handful of companies are indicative of how this earnings season will play out” said ohsung kwon an equity strategist at bofa “but it’s a positive start” the pace of reporting is set to pick up this week’s announcements account for 13 of the sp 500 by earnings per share covering a broader array of sectors according to bofa as the season goes on investors are going to be scrutinizing themes like the influence of ai on big tech profits and whether companies and consumers are still under pressure from inflation sp 500 firms are projected to post a quarterly drop in profits this period likely the worst since 2020 although that’s expected to improve in coming quarters data compiled by bloomberg intelligence show if not for energy the earnings picture would be rosier this quarter according to bofa strike that sector from the picture and sp 500 companies’ projected yearoveryear decline in earnings comes to just under 1 compared with 71 when including the industry and sales go from a 04 dip to a 3 bump without the sector oil prices sank for the second straight quarter in the apriljune period amid worries over a potential global economic slowdown as kwon sees it investors should keep the earliest announcements in mind as they prepare for the period to heat up “early reporters typically point to at least directionally where earnings could head to” he said