Corporate America is working hard to keep the stock market from falling victim to high expectations.

Another round of rising quarterly profit reports helped drive the S&P 500 Index back to record levels, but in their earnings reports executives largely struck cautious tones on their outlooks. Just 40% of the firms that issued guidance have provided earnings outlooks that exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to Bank of America Corp. If the trend holds, it would be smallest share since April 2020, when the onset of the pandemic was sowing unprecedented uncertainty.