Economic slowdown: here are some of the notable companies warning

Since the beginning of the year, some of the most visible companies in the US have warned that growth is slowing in any of their industries, at a time when global economic growth is under microscope.

Apple set the stage in January with a revenue warning. A few weeks later, industrial giant Caterpillar said its outlook for this year implied "modest" sales growth. Amazon offered weak sales forecasts in February and FedEx said this week that its sales and profits were disappointing due to macroeconomic weakness.

Then there was the house builder Lennar. And shake Shack. And Nike.

Of course, every company has its own history, structure and outlook. And each sector presents its own idiosyncratic challenges. While stocks have seen an impressive rebound this year, investors and badysts can not help but notice that earnings growth is slowing.

"This year is starting on a mediocre note, but stock prices have rebounded well so far," said Ed Yardeni, chairman of Yardeni Research, in a note to customers this week.

"While the Q4-2018 growth rate was still in double digits, the typical upward gain hook was anemic, and branch advice on the outlook for 2019 at their last teleconferences was generally cautious. . "

Indeed, investment strategists believe that it's hard to ignore downward earnings estimates.

Last year, profits increased 27.5% year-over-year in the third quarter and 14.2% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to data compiled by Refinitiv. The first-quarter earnings growth rate was slightly negative, at -1.5%, and the second-quarter forecast is for growth of only 1.1%.

"Investors may be satisfied with recent market performance, but it is unlikely that they will find the underlying momentum – a more favorable risk environment, with deceleration of economic growth and profits – particularly inspiring "said Jonathan Golub, chief US equity strategist at Credit Suisse. customers earlier this week.

Here is an overview of some publicly traded US companies that said growth this year may slow down from current levels.