Company reports and earnings day

When companies publish their results, and why share prices often move that day.

Click any Tap any word with a dotted underline to see what it means.

U.S. public companies must report their results to the SEC on a regular schedule. Anyone can read these reports for free on the SEC's website.

The main reports

• 10-K: the annual report, with the full financial statements for the fiscal year and a description of the business and its risks. Brazilian companies traded in New York file a similar report, the 20-F.
• 10-Q: a shorter report for each of the first three quarters of the year.
• 8-K: a quick notice of important events, such as a new CEO, a large acquisition or the release of results.

Earnings day

Four times a year, a company announces its quarterly results, usually in a press release followed by a call where its managers answer analysts' questions. Before that day, analysts publish estimates of revenue and earnings per share. Many companies also share what they expect for the coming months, called guidance.

Why prices move

Share prices already reflect what investors expect. So on earnings day, the price often reacts less to whether the results were good or bad than to whether they came in above or below expectations, and to what the company says about the future. A company can report record profit and still see its share price fall.