Roughly half of the S&P 500 (.SPX) companies have reported results thus far, with more than 77% exceeding results.
But of that group, consumer discretionary companies have been the biggest surprise, on average exceeding earnings-per-share estimates by 19%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.
A 4.9% rise in U.S. gross domestic product in the third quarter further highlights the health of the consumer.
Including Monday's gains, the S&P 500 consumer discretionary index (.SPLRCD) is up nearly 19% this year, far outperforming the broader S&P 500, which is up nearly 8%.
Reuters GraphicsAmong the other consumer discretionary names that have surpassed expectations are Amazon (AMZN.O), Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT.N) and Royal Caribbean (RCL.N).
Persons:
LSEG, Jason Benowitz, Roosevelt, McDonald's, Brian Mulberry, Gerald Pascarelli, Aishwarya Venugopal, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Anil D'Silva
Organizations:
Reuters Graphics, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Royal, Zacks Investment Management, Thomson
Locations:
U.S, Royal Caribbean, Bengaluru