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Apple Inc., Google Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. all reported blow-out quarterly earnings this reporting season, and their respective share prices reflected the joy: Google jumped 13 per cent, IBM rose 5.7 per cent and Apple was up 3.3 per cent on Wednesday afternoon.

However, the bigger earnings picture doesn't look nearly as pretty. Bespoke Investment Group points out that some of big-name companies are distorting an otherwise lacklustre quarter so far: On average, stocks have fallen 0.3 per cent on the day after reporting their earnings. And since the second quarter earnings season kicked off last week with Alcoa Inc., the S&P 500 has fallen nearly 1.2 per cent.

Admittedly, much of this decline is due to the sharp 1.8 per cent drop on July 11. The general lack of enthusiasm for stocks in recent weeks has little to do with earnings and far more to do with concerns about the European debt crisis, debate over the extension of the U.S. debt ceiling and ongoing nervousness over the U.S. economic recovery.

Still, as we've pointed out before, earnings haven't done much for U.S. stocks in recent quarters. In the first quarter reporting season, between April and May, the S&P 500 rose all of 0.3 per cent. The previous three quarters were a little better, but hardly powerful: In the fourth quarter of 2010, the S&P 500 rose 3.8 per cent; it rose 2.5 per cent during the third quarter reporting season; and it rose 1.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2010.

Over this entire stretch, between July 2010 and May 2010, the S&P 500 rose 23.2 per cent, which means that the bulk of stock market gains actually occurred outside of earnings seasons.

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