The earnings report is the release of the company’s performance to the public every quarter or year. All publicly-traded companies have the obligation of revealing their performance to the public. These reports that are made public include but not limited to the balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and the income statement.
Investors rely on information from the earnings report to understand the current performance of the companies and predict their future profitabilities.
One of the most important information investors highly anticipate from the release of the earnings reports is the earning per share or EPS. The EPS shows how much money the company earned/made for its shareholders.
Long term investors do not use data from a single quarter to judge the health of the company. They include results from many years back in their assessments. For example, an investor can use the past five years’ EPS data in an attempt to predict the future earnings of a company. If the company has been doing well and provided strong earnings; there are chances that it will continue to do so if the economic conditions stay the same.
How often do companies release earnings reports?
Publicly-traded companies report their earnings every quarter and there are four quarters in a year.
The earning season starts one or two weeks after the last month of each quarter. Once the season begins, many companies release their earnings based on their particular earning dates.
Where can I find earnings reports?
The earnings reports of publicly-traded companies in the US can be found on the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website. Each company reports quarterly and annual earnings reports to SEC and they are available to the public.
- 10Q: Use these reports to learn about the company’s quarterly earnings reports
- 10K: Refer to these reports for annual earnings reports
If you don’t want to read the 10Q and 10K, you can find a snapshot of companies’ financial reports on many financial websites. Websites like Yahoo Finance and Zacks can be a great starting point.
Financial websites can give you information about the earnings release calendar. In addition, you can google earning release calendar and get the quickest answers.
