Double-digit run appears all but done

NEW YORK – For America’s top 500 companies, the absence of extraordinary earnings news this past week pretty much guarantees 18 consecutive quarters of double-digit profit are over.

Wall Street analysts say fourth-quarter results are running just about on par with historical averages. As of Jan. 31, with 57 percent of S&P components reporting, companies have posted profit growth that has averaged 8.1 percent, the rating agency said.

But measure the latest results against the third-quarter’s 23 percent performance and the fourth quarter pales in comparison.

“There was some hope of getting back into double digits if there were a few surprises, but that’s over now,” said Howard Silverblatt, S&P’s senior index analyst. “There’s nobody left that can hit a home run. We’re still going to finish under 10 percent no matter which way you go.”

The best news has come from the financial sector, where Wall Street banks turned in record results all year. Investment banks have enjoyed an unprecedented run thanks to the rallying stock market, including robust fees from advising on some $4 trillion of acquisition activity in 2006.

But the technology sector has been the most troublesome. Telecommunications companies remain the index’s laggards, while warnings and weak profit outlooks from broader tech players received an unsettling reception by investors.