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US HEALTHCARE SECTOR EARNINGS GROWTH SEEN AMONG STRONGEST IN 2025

Among S&P 500 .SPX sectors expected to have the highest year-over-year earnings growth in 2025 is healthcare.

Analysts are forecasting a 20.4% gain in healthcare .SPXHC earnings in 2025, according to recent LSEG data.

It is on track to have the second-highest growth after technology .SPLRCT, with earnings for S&P 500 technology seen up 21.1% in 2025.

"What we view as a positive is the broadening out of earnings. You've had it largely driven by the Mag 7 since 2023," said Stephanie Lang, chief investment officer at Homrich Berg in Atlanta, referring to the Magnificent 7 group of megacap U.S. stocks.

In 2025, those companies are still expected to have strong earnings gains, she said, but the S&P 500's earnings growth is less concentrated in that space.

"You see areas like healthcare, which has really struggled on the earnings front, and it's starting to pick up momentum," she said.

To be sure, she said, "healthcare has been a very tough place to be, and there are a lot of risks in terms of the new administration coming in and how that could affect things."

The healthcare sector lost ground in the wake of Donald Trump's win as president in the November U.S. election, with some investors concerned about possible changes in Medicare and other healthcare policies.

S&P 500 healthcare earnings growth is estimated at 4.9% for 2024 compared with 10.2% growth for the S&P 500 overall, according to LSEG data.

(Caroline Valetkevitch)

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