How 'Bout Them Earnings?

Bespoke Investment Group has a surprising statistic out this morning: with 11% of the S&P 500 companies reporting, Bespoke has calculated the current quarter's EPS beat rate to be 72%. There are a lot of earnings reports still to come, but if it holds, the 72% beat rate will be the second highest in the past decade.
Even more impressive is the additional statistic that 34% of the companies that have already reported are in the financial sector, which has to be considered among the most earnings challenged in the current environment.
The beat rate will be an important trend to watch.