Have currencies played a role in driving performance this earnings season? Find out in FactSet Earnings Insight.

The past week marked the final “peak week” of the Q1 2011 earnings season, as over 100 companies in the S&P 500 reported numbers. During this final “peak week” of earnings season, the euro traded at a one-year high relative to the U.S. dollar before recording a sharp drop on Thursday. This uptick in the value of the euro during the first part of the week reflects the continuation of a longer-term upward trend in the value of the euro relative to the dollar. Given the weakness in the U.S. dollar in Q1 2011, did multi-national U.S. corporations see a benefit in international sales during Q1 2011 due the effect of currency translation? Using the Dow 30 as a proxy for multi-national U.S. corporations, the answer is yes.

This currency benefit has been a contributor to the strong earnings season to date relative to the expectations of analysts. Of the 423 companies that have reported earnings to date in the index, 73% have reported EPS above the mean estimate and 68% have reported sales above the mean estimate. As a result of this strong performance, there has been an uptick in the earnings and revenue growth rates for the index since the start of earnings season. The blended (combines actual results for companies that have reported and estimated results for companies yet to report) earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 for Q1 2011 is 17.7%, and the blended revenue growth rate is 8.4%. On March 31, the estimated earnings growth rate was 11.5%, while the estimated revenue growth rate was 6.8%.

Some of the key themes that affected earnings and sales for the first quarter and may also affect future quarters include the disaster in Japan, rising commodity prices, and global economic growth. It is also important to watch how the results of this earnings season affect future earnings and sales estimates for the index.

The peak weeks of the Q1 2011 earnings season are now finished. Next week, just 14 S&P 500 companies and two Dow 30 components are scheduled to report earnings.

Use the FactSet Earnings Insight report below to analyze the key metrics associated with corporate earnings and revenues. All of the data used to compile the report is available in FactSet.