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Apple to account for bulk of S&P 500's Euro zone growth in Q2

Apple's second quarter European region revenue is expected to see a 32.3 percent surge that will eclipse all other S&P 500 companies, a surprising statistic given the economic situation in the region.

According to research firm FactSet (via Business Insider), out of the ten largest S&P 500 companies by market capitalization that offer revenue breakdowns by region, Apple will be just one of three to report any sizable growth in Europe.

Earnings reports for the first quarter revealed that an average of 22.6 percent of sales for the ten companies was generated in Europe, with the region accounting for 22.5 percent of Apple's revenue. Preliminary data shows that profits will dry up for most American companies in the second quarter as the area suffers through government debt and high unemployment rates.

Bucking the trend, however, will be Apple which is expected to post second quarter growth of 32.3 percent year-over-year, well above runner-up Intel's 4.5 percent bump over the same period. The iPhone maker will account for most of the IT sector's earnings and sales growth rates which will respectively be third and second highest among the S&P 500's ten sectors. Without Apple, the tech sector's sales growth rate would fall from an expected 6.6 percent to 3.4 percent and earnings growth would drop from 4 percent to -1.7 percent.


Source: FactSet

The overall second quarter growth rate for the S&P 500 is set to come in at 3.2 percent and, if reached, would mark the 11th consecutive quarter of growth for the index. This is largely contingent on strong growth from Apple and Bank of America and without the two top performers the index's growth would fall to -2.1 percent.