Factors influencing dealmaking Divergence in corporate performance ® Figure 4. STOXX Europe 600 Index and S&P 500 Index constituents Since the financial crisis, European corporate earnings have trailed those of the US average net profit argin  000­€4 companies, where they are close to 15 year highs. However, the gap is expected to  narrow if European demand picks up following the ECB stimulus. We have already 0 seen European corporate margins increase at a strong pace since 2013, while S&P  500 companies are expected to show three consecutive quarters of declining 6 earnings.   We expect US companies to continue cross-border M&A to offset some of 0 the pressure, and benefit from growth in new markets. 00 0 0 0­ 0 05 06 0‚ 0 0€ 0  ­  S&P 500 STOXX® Europe 600 Source: Deloitte analysis based on data from loomber