Fears of an earnings recession this quarter were overblown: Once again, companies largely exceeded expectations. One obvious reason for that outperformance is that many forecasts were low — for good reason. There was just so much uncertainty, including China's post-Covid-restrictions reopening play, the debt limit showdown in Washington and the Federal Reserve's ongoing battle with inflation, that analysts lacked any real clarity on results and forecasts. It was much easier to lay out the bear case than the bull case. That's not to discount the performances. Many management teams proved to be nimble in a very uncertain environment and demonstrated...