Earnings season: What quarterly reports mean

Earnings season is the four-to-six-week period after the end of each quarter when publicly traded companies release their quarterly results. During this period, they disclose detailed financial information ranging from revenue to earnings per share.

Key points

• Earnings season is the period after the end of a quarter when companies report their quarterly results.

• It begins in January, April, July, and October, usually one or two weeks after the quarter ends, and lasts around four to six weeks.

• Quarterly reports include figures such as net income, earnings per share (EPS), and revenue.

• Stock prices often react to the difference between reported results and the market consensus, rather than to the absolute figures. This increases volatility.

• Quarterly reporting is currently generally mandatory in the US. In Germany and Austria, the requirements are more limited.

What is earnings season?

Earnings season is the period after the end of a fiscal quarter when publicly traded companies publish reports on their performance. It falls within the first few weeks of a new quarter.

Quarterly reports contain financial information such as net income, the income statement, earnings per share, and revenue.

When is the next earnings season? Key dates

Earnings season begins after the final month of each fiscal quarter, in January, April, July, and October. The following earnings season calendar shows the typical reporting periods:

In the US, earnings season traditionally starts with the major banks, followed by US giants such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Companies in Germany and elsewhere in Europe generally report a few weeks later.

US, Germany, and Austria: Who is required to report?

How often a company must report depends on the country and the stock market segment in which it is listed.

Publicly traded companies in the US are currently generally required to report quarterly.

Germany has no general legal requirement for full quarterly financial reports. However, companies listed in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Prime Standard must publish at least a quarterly statement or quarterly financial report. In Austria, the requirements also depend on the relevant market segment.

Many European companies nevertheless report quarterly on a voluntary basis, often because of their international structures or the expectations of capital market participants.

What is an earnings calendar?

An earnings calendar, also called a quarterly results calendar, lists the dates when publicly traded companies are scheduled to release their quarterly results. Because there is no single reporting date for all companies, the calendar helps investors keep track of upcoming announcements.

Companies are usually grouped by industry and can be sorted by factors such as market capitalization, historical data, revenue forecasts, and earnings-per-share estimates. For investors and traders, these dates indicate when individual stocks may experience larger price movements.

Why is earnings season important for investors?

Earnings season gives you an up-to-date view of individual companies and the broader market. The reported figures show how a company has performed recently and how its outlook is developing.

One important point when interpreting price reactions is that a stock can fall even when a company reports figures that initially appear strong. Prices often react most sharply to whether results come in above or below the market consensus. If results fall short of analysts’ expectations, the stock may decline despite a high profit. When a company exceeds the consensus estimate, this is known as a positive earnings surprise.

These reactions can increase volatility around reporting dates. For investors, this means potentially larger price movements and a higher risk of losses. Prices can move sharply in either direction.

What is an earnings call?

An earnings call is a telephone or video conference in which company executives discuss the latest quarterly results and answer questions from analysts. It usually takes place shortly after the quarterly report is released.

The earnings call adds context to the reported figures. Management explains what lies behind the results and often provides an outlook for the next quarter. These statements can cause further price movements even when the figures themselves are already public.

What does EPS mean?

EPS stands for earnings per share. It is calculated by dividing a company’s profit by the number of shares outstanding.

EPS is one of the most commonly used metrics for comparing quarterly results with analysts’ expectations. A company that exceeds the consensus EPS estimate delivers a positive earnings surprise. If EPS falls below estimates, the stock price often reacts negatively.

Getting ready for earnings season

A few approaches that have proven effective in practice:

1. Check the earnings calendar early and note the reporting dates of the companies that interest you. If you wait until the day before, you could easily miss an important announcement.

2. Compare the analyst consensus for revenue and EPS with the actual figures. But remember: estimates are assumptions, not guarantees, and actual results regularly differ from them.

3. Consider performance over several quarters, rather than looking at the latest figure in isolation. A single weak quarter says little, but a pattern spanning four or five quarters is more meaningful.

4. In the annual report, pay attention to management’s outlook and the reasons given for any deviations. The explanation behind a figure is often more revealing than the figure itself.

5. Put results in the context of the broader market environment instead of interpreting every price movement in isolation. After earnings season, take time to reflect: What have you learned? Has your original assessment changed? An investment journal can help with this more than you might initially think.

The weeks between reporting periods are also the best time to review your strategy, when your attention is not being pulled in different directions by sharp swings across your portfolio.