More companies than usual are downbeat on the end of the year — but Wall Street’s profit estimates are still strong

After two mammoth weeks of earnings, most S&P 500 names have put their third-quarter results in the rearview. But as Wall Street’s attention turns to the final three months of the year, more companies are downbeat, even as analysts remain upbeat about profit growth.

So far, of the 77 companies that have given profit forecasts during this round of earnings, 53 of them, or 69% of the total, have offered up more pessimistic forecasts, according to a FactSet analysis published on Friday. That percentage figure is higher than the average rate over both the past five and 10 years.