Fundamental Analysis · Intermediate · 4 min
Earnings season
You can describe when and how listed companies report quarterly results, what happens on a reporting day and where to find the dates.
Four times a year
Four times a year, financial news changes tone. Headlines fill with results, beats and misses, and individual shares jump or drop by 10% or more in a single morning.
This is earnings season, the weeks after each quarter in which most listed companies report their numbers. Even if you never read an income statement, it affects every chart you look at. Knowing how a reporting day works helps you understand those sudden moves.
Release, call, filing
Most listed companies report every quarter. In the US this is required. In Europe, half-yearly reports are required, and many large companies add quarterly updates. Because most companies end their quarters in March, June, September and December, their reports cluster in the weeks that follow. That cluster is called earnings season.
A typical reporting day:
- Results released. The company publishes a press release with the headline numbers, usually before the market opens or after it closes, so that all investors get the news at the same time. US companies also furnish it to the SEC on a Form 8-K.
- Earnings call. A few hours later, management presents the results in an earnings call and answers questions from analysts. Calls are usually open to listen to, and recordings or transcripts often appear on the company's investor relations page.
- Filing. The full quarterly report follows. In the US, the 10-Q is due within 40 days of the quarter's end for larger companies and 45 days for others.
Companies usually announce their reporting dates weeks in advance. You find them on the investor relations page and in earnings calendars.
Most companies beat
Before each report, analysts publish estimates for sales and earnings per share. The average of these estimates is what the result is measured against.
Beating it is normal:
According to FactSet, 83% of S&P 500 companies that had reported by 31 October 2025 beat the earnings estimates for the third quarter of 2025. Over ten years, the average was 75%.
That has a consequence for reading the news. "Company beats estimates" is the usual outcome, not a surprise. What moves the price is how much it beat or missed, how sales did, and above all what management says about the coming quarters. The next lessons look at expectations and guidance.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring the reporting date. A share can gap far beyond any stop order overnight. Know when a company reports.
- Reading only the headline. "Earnings beat" says nothing about sales, margins or the outlook.
- Treating the first move as final. Prices often swing in both directions while the earnings call is still running.
- Assuming a beat means good news. Most companies beat. The size of the surprise and the outlook matter more.
The takeaway
Earnings season is the few weeks after each quarter when most companies report. Results, an earnings call and the filing follow in a fixed order.
Check yourself
Quick quiz
4 questions. Instant feedback, nothing is saved.
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1Tap the step where management answers analysts' questions.
Tap the chart.
On the earnings call, management presents the results and takes questions from analysts, usually the same day.
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2A large US company's quarter ends on 30 September. By when must it file its 10-Q?
Large accelerated and accelerated filers have 40 days, other companies 45.
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3About three quarters of S&P 500 companies usually beat analysts' estimates. What does that suggest?
Beating is the normal case. What moves prices is the size of the surprise and the outlook.
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4Why are results often released before the market opens or after it closes?
Releasing outside regular hours gives everyone time to read the numbers. Prices then often gap at the next open.
of 4 correct.