The estimation of firm growth is increasingly relevant to providers of capital in periods of economic uncertainty. The current study employs univariate and multivariate analyses to assess the impact of real GDP and the dividend payout ratio on earnings growth of JSE-listed firms. The findings reveal that there is no relationship between these hypothesised predictors of earnings growth, despite contrasting results of previous studies. Through the inclusion of real GDP in models that are established in the research, the study contributes to the literature of macroeconomic variables as lead indicators of firms’ earnings growth potential. This research also extends prior research on the impact of dividend payout ratio on future earnings growth.

在经济不确定时期，对公司增长的估计与资本提供者越来越相关。目前的研究采用单变量和多变量分析来评估实际 GDP 和股息支付率对 JSE 上市公司收益增长的影响。调查结果表明，尽管先前研究的结果截然不同，但这些假设的收入增长预测因素之间没有关系。通过将实际 GDP 纳入研究建立的模型中，该研究为将宏观经济变量作为企业盈利增长潜力的主要指标的文献做出了贡献。本研究还扩展了之前关于股息支付率对未来盈利增长影响的研究。