The bar was lowered far enough on the profits front that companies are beating easily, it is the revenues that were not estimated well.

This is the story so far:

According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 59 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted earnings to date, 74.6 percent have topped profit expectations, above the 70 percent beat rate for the past four quarters and 63 percent rate since 1994.

Early returns on revenue have been disappointing, however, as 45.8 of companies have topped estimates, well short of the 58 percent rate for the past four quarters and 61 percent rate since 2002.