As Q1 earnings season continues, more and more companies are starting to post their earnings results. On Tuesday, four diversified bellwether companies reported their first quarter fiscal 2016 earnings results before the bell. Let’s take a look. E.I. DuPont de Nemours DD DuPont reported impressive Q1 results. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.26 for the quarter (excluding non-recurring items), surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 per share. Net sales of $7.41 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.202 billion but declined roughly 6% year-over-year. As a result, DuPont raised its earnings guidance for 2016 to $3.05-$3.20 per share from $2.85-$3.10 per share. Eli Lilly and Company LLY Pharmaceutical product manufacturer Eli Lilly reported disappointing Q1 results. Adjusted earnings of $0.83 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85 and fell 5% from the year-ago period. Revenues of $4.865 billion lagged just behind our consensus estimate of $4.875 billion. Despite these misses, Eli Lilly has raised certain parts of its guidance for 2016, and now expects earnings per share in the range of $3.50-$3.60 and revenues in the range of $20.6 billion-$21.1 billion. 3M Company MMM) 3M saw relatively solid results for its first quarter. Earnings per share came in at $2.05, comfortably topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 per share. Revenues of $7.409 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.317 billion but declined 2.2% year-over-year. In Q1, 3M raised its dividend by 8% year-over-year to $1.11 per share, and paid $672 million in cash dividends as well as repurchased $1.2 billion of its shares. Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT The aerospace and defense company reported strong Q1 results. Earnings per share of $2.58 topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51 but declined 5.84% from the year-ago period. Total revenues came in at $11.7 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.09 billion by 5.5%. Lockheed Martin has raised its 2016 outlook, with revenues now expected to be in the range of $49.6 billion-$51.1 billion and earnings per share in the range of $11.50–$11.80. Q1 Earnings Season Scorecard (as of 4/26/2016) Including all of this morning’s results, we now have Q1 results from 166 S&P 500 members that combined account for 42.6% of the index’s total market capitalization. Total earnings for these companies are down -7.6% from the same period last year on -1.3% lower revenues, with 75.3% beating EPS estimates and 54.2% coming ahead of revenue estimates. Relative to other recent periods, this is weak earnings and revenue growth from these 166 index members. But positive surprises are more numerous relative to other recent periods, both for earnings as well as revenues. The favorable trend in surprises could be interpreted to mean that estimates may have fallen too much in the run up to the start of the Q1 earnings season. Looking at Q1 as a whole, combining the actual results from the 166 S&P 500 members that have reported with estimates for the still-to-come 334 index members, total earnings are expected to be down -9.4% on -1.2% lower revenues – the 4th quarter in a row of earnings declines for the index. Estimates for 2016 Q2 have started to come down, with total earnings for the S&P 500 index now expected to be down -5.2% from the same period last year. For a more detailed look at the Q1 earnings season, check out our weekly Earnings Preview report at this link - http://www.zacks.com/commentary/78985/making-sense-of-the-q1-earnings- Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report LILLY ELI & CO (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report DU PONT (EI) DE (DD): Free Stock Analysis Report 3M CO (MMM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research