Earnings reports are the public release of a company’s financial records. Corporations with publicly traded stock must meet periodic earnings reporting requirements set by the local regulatory authority.

Corporations release earnings reports quarterly. The report includes an income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of stockholders’ equity, various notes, and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition.

An earnings call accompanies the earnings report where management discusses the quarter’s financial activities and answers questions from analysts.

Earnings Calendar

The earnings calendar provides details regarding the release of earnings reports. Earnings calendars provide the date corporate earnings will be released, the time (before the market opens or after the market closes), the previous year’s earnings for the quarter, and the consensus analyst earnings per share (EPS) forecast.

Earnings calendars are relatively stable from quarter to quarter. However, dates and times are subject to change until the company confirms the earnings release date.

Pre-Market vs. Post-Market

Corporations do not typically release quarterly or annual earnings information during market hours. Instead, corporations release earnings and conduct an earnings call either before the market opens (pre-market) or after the market closes (post-market). Industry groups typically cluster earnings releases together and report around the same time. Post-market releases do not typically happen on Friday afternoons.

Price Moves

Earnings reports typically cause the most volatile price moves of the year for companies. Leading up to the earnings release, analysts speculate key metrics for companies such as earnings per share, sales per share, same-store sales growth, total sales growth, and many others.

Once the earnings report has been released, shares of the company’s stock quickly react to the new information. Shares will typically gap-up (the price of the company’s stock opens above the previous day’s close) or gap down (the price of the company’s stock opens below the previous day’s close) in reaction to the earnings announcement.

Companies with more stable earnings typically experience smaller price movements due to earnings announcements while companies with significant growth changes or new products will experience increased volatility after earnings reports.

Above-average moves are anticipated around earnings, and implied volatility rises significantly leading up to the announcement. Implied volatility then falls after the earnings report as the uncertainty is removed following the announcement.

What do earnings reports mean?

Earnings reports are the public release of a company’s financial records. Corporations with publicly traded stock must meet periodic earnings reporting requirements as set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Corporations release earnings reports quarterly. The report includes an income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of stockholders’ equity, various notes, and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition. 

What months are earnings season?

Earnings season is when the majority of companies release their earnings reports to the public. Typically, the earnings season begins shortly after the last month of the quarter and lasts roughly six weeks.

What time are pre-market earnings released?

Corporations do not typically release quarterly or annual earnings information during market hours. Instead, corporations release earnings and conduct an earnings call either before the market opens (pre-market) or after the market closes (post-market).