Earnings season comes around once a quarter (four times per year) and is the time when most publicly traded companies report earnings. A publicly-traded company is a company that sells stocks to the public.
During earnings season, regulated public companies are required by SEC law* to submit a summary of how the company is doing – specifically how it performed over the past 3 months. Think of it as a ‘report card’ where companies share important financial information and make comparisons to prior quarters and years. They also provide updates on any current or future business plans.
Earnings reports allow existing and prospective investors to examine for themselves how a business is doing.
A couple of the most important metrics analysts look at during earnings season are:
- Earnings Per Share (EPS) numbers and how they compare to previous quarters.
- Forward guidance.
Earnings calls and reports are free and readily available to the public. That means that anyone can listen in and/or have access to the full transcript of what was said once the call is over.
Interested in checking out the earnings of a stock on your radar? Is easy! Follow these three simple steps:
(1) WHEN: Find out when a company you are interested in is reporting earnings by Googling a phrase such as: “[Company Name] earnings date”.
For example: “Visa Earnings Date.”
(2) WHERE: Go to the official website of the company you are interested in and search for the “Investors’ Relations” tab.
(3) WHAT: Within Investors Relations – search for a tab/link that says “Press Releases” or “Quarterly Earnings.” Once in that section look for the most recent quarterly earnings.
And that’s all folks!
Would you like to learn what kind of information you should focus on when examining earnings reports and how that information can help you make educated investment decisions? Would you like to understand, in simple terms, how EPS and guidance numbers can help us determine how a company is doing and how it might continue to perform in the future?
I teach that and a WHOLE lot more in the Stock Market Investing Bootcamp for Beginners. To join the waiting list for the next class, make sure your info is here.
Any questions about earnings season? Let me know in the comments or email me: Girlsonthemoney@gmail.com.
Cheers to health & wealth!
Mabel ❤$
*The SEC is the entity of the government that regulates public companies. You can check out compliance requirements here.
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