U.S. companies reporting strong quarterly growth can thank their emerging-market businesses for the push, Mike Thompson, head of valuations/risk strategy research at Standard & Poor's, told CNBC Monday.
"S&P 500 companies over the last couple of years have done a pretty remarkable job of optimizing their base of operations in the U.S., but at the same time very strategically looking for growth outside the U.S.," he said.
While these companies have not "abandoned their primary market," he said, "the trend is clear. Of the new economic growth out there, four-fifths are coming...from the emerging market countries and I think profits are following that trend line. You can expect to see more of that."
According to S&P data, 70 percent of companies reporting earnings have beaten analyst estimates, with materials, energy, information technology, and industrials the leading sectors. The laggards are the financials, telecoms, and utilities.
Thompson expects another six or seven quarters of earnings growth across the S&P 500 company universe, even in a weak and uncertain U.S. economy.
"If you get some of the uncertainty out of the way and end demand starts picking up in the U.S., that’s only good news," Thompson said.