While the S&P 500 is up about 1% year-to-date, earnings strength has caused its trailing 12-month P/E ratio to actually contract 1.78 points from 22.37 at the start of the year down to 20.59 as of this writing.
Below we show how trailing 12-month valuations have changed both year-to-date and over the last 12 months.
Year-to-date, every sector with the exception of Consumer Discretionary and Utilities has seen contraction in its P/E ratio. The Energy sector has seen the biggest contraction, but it also started the year with the second highest valuation. Along with Energy, there are five other sectors that have seen contraction of 2.5 points or more in their P/E ratios — Materials, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Telecom, and Financials.
The Technology sector is up 10% year-to-date, and even it has seen contraction in its P/E ratio due to earnings strength. As shown in the table, Tech’s P/E started the year at 23.63, and it’s now down to 22.55.
The one sector that has seen an expansion in its trailing 12-month P/E ratio is Consumer Discretionary, which has jumped 1.62 points YTD from 23.49 up to 25.12.
