The latest round of corporate earnings is leaving Wall Street with a confounding sense of relief and lingering anxiety The latest round of corporate earnings is leaving Wall Street with a confounding sense of relief and lingering anxiety. Companies are in the midst of an earnings recession", meaning profits have contracted for two straight quarters, starting with a 4.6 per cent drop at the end of 2022. Profits for S and P 500 companies shrank just over 2 per cent last quarter, compared with forecasts of a 6.7 per cent drop. That brought some relief to Wall Street that the quarter wasn't as bad as it could have been. But, analysts also expect more pain ahead. Analysts polled by FactSet now expect a 6.4 per cent contraction for profits in the current quarter. That shows just how worried analysts are about the impact from inflation on businesses and consumers.