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The U.S. earnings season is more than 80 per cent complete and while the aggregate 3.8 per cent profit growth is uninspiring, the quarter was saved by two sectors that get little attention – broadcasting and drug retailing.

The majority of the major U.S. market sectors posted year over year earnings growth clustered around 6 per cent. The oil and gas sector's profit decline of 10.8 per cent was the outlier, along with the barely positive results from the broad health care sector.

Overall S&P 500 profit results would have been truly abysmal without the 16 per cent growth in the consumer services sector. Netflix was a big contributor to results in the general retailing category but the biggest positive surprises were in the consumer services subsectors of drug retailing, and broadcasting and entertainment.

In the drug sector, CVS Caremark Corp. managed to translate 6 per cent revenue growth into a 28 per cent jump in profits. McKesson Corp utilized the same type of alchemy to turn 10.4 per cent sales growth into earnings growth of 18.2 per cent. Generic drug and health care equipment provider AmerisourceBergen Corp. posted slightly weaker profit growth at 14.5 per cent but it still may be the one to watch – sales growth of 25.8 per cent was well above its competitors.

Stunning results from the major cable companies shoved profit growth for the U.S. broadcast and entertainment sector higher by 31 per cent. DirecTV Group Inc., Discovery Communications and Comcast Corp. also posted earnings more than 40 per cent above a year ago.

The broadcast and drug sectors are benefiting from secular trends – cable television penetration and population demographics, respectively. Of the two, an aging population would seem the stronger, more dependable tailwind.

Earnings growth is increasingly scarce in the United States and globally but the U.S. earnings season shows that growth opportunities are still there for those willing to dig deeper.

Scott Barlow writes for Inside the Market (tgam.ca/inside-the-market), which offers up-to-the-minute analysis of stock trends and market-moving news throughout the trading day. Subscribe to Globe Unlimited at globeandmail.com/globeunlimited.

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