Earnings season preview: Investors hope the worst is over

The mood of institutional investors heading to Q2 earnings season? The worst is over. Or at least most investors hope the worst is over as far as earnings go.

Second quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to decline 34 percent, according to data compiled by Standard & Poors (MHP) and Bloomberg News.

That's hardly the stuff of a recovery, let alone robust GDP growth. Still, when contrasted with Q1's downright ugly 60 percent year-over-year earnings per share decline, a 30 percent or so decline would take the form of yet another green shoot – incremental, albeit modest, improvement in economic fundamentals.