A company's earnings report is a public display of profitability, financial standing, and the official word on recent overall business performance. All publicly traded companies in the U.S.are legally required to file quarterly reports, annual reports, and 10-Q and 10-K reports.
Key Takeaways
- A company's earnings report is a public display of profitability, financial standing, and the official word on recent overall business performance.
- All publicly traded companies in the U.S.are legally required to file quarterly reports, annual reports, and 10-Q and 10-K reports.
- The most authoritative andcompleteresource for all earnings reports is the SEC's EDGAR system.
Current and potential shareholders can track upcoming earnings releases through online resources such as the Nasdaq online earnings calendar. Earnings reports that have already been released can be found through the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) website—SEC.gov—and other publications, such asMorningstar (as well as on a company's website).
These earnings reports, which all come out at around the same time, serve as public balance sheets. As a result, during this time period stocks may go up and down with each new announcement. However, an earnings report doesn't necessarily disclose anything about a stock's long-term viability. It's important to be prudent with the information that is made available in an earnings release.
How to Track Earnings Reports Through Nasdaq
The Nasdaq online earnings calendar presents acollection of coming earnings reports. You can search for a company based on a specific release date or by ticker symbol to receive a brief overview of key information.
For example, you can see reports released on the current day, and these reports include fundamental data points, suchasmarket capitalization, consensus earnings per share (EPS) forecasts as well as last year's EPS.
How to Track Earnings Reports Using the SEC's EDGAR
The most authoritative andcompleteresource for all earnings reports is located on the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) website (SEC.gov).Using their EDGAR system, you can search for any publicly traded company and readquarterly, annual, and 10-Q and 10-K reports.
Many people confuse the quarterly earnings report with the 10-Q form. This is understandable because they are both based on quarterly data. However, the 10-Q is a much longer document that is filled with black-and-white financial information. While this can make it tedious to read, it allows investors to avoid some of the extraneous information that is often found in the official earnings report.
Listen to Earnings Conference Calls
Earnings calls are generally available to the entire public to listen to. If you keep track of when earnings calls are scheduled to take place, you can often listen tothe call live via a telephone or cellular device. These earnings calls can provide an even better insight into the financial health of a company than quarterly earnings reports.
Earnings conference calls can also be accessed online; they are often found in the investor relations section of a company's website. Many companies provide access tothe earnings calls on their corporate websites for some time after the actual call, making it possible for investors toaccess and analyze valuable information.
FAQs
Stock market websites: Stock market sites like Yahoo Finance also offer access to companies' financial performance, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports. Online financial aggregators: Several online financial services offer access to earnings reports, other market data, and news.
How do I access a company's earnings report? ›
Financial information can be found on the company's web page in Investor Relations where Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other company reports are often kept. The SEC has financial filings electronically available beginning in 1993/1994 free on their website. See EDGAR: Company Filings.
How to find out a company's earnings? ›
7 Ways to Find Company Revenue
- Search Company Databases. ...
- Revenue per Employee. ...
- Use Deal Sourcing Platforms. ...
- How to Find a Company's Sales Figures via Proxies. ...
- Level Up Your Google-Fu. ...
- Competition and Industry Comparison. ...
- Check the PPP Database.
Here are several methods you can use to check the revenue of a company:
- Annual Reports: ...
- SEC Filings (for U.S. Companies): ...
- Financial News and Business Websites: ...
- Company Databases and Business Directories: ...
- Government Registries: ...
- Financial Analysis Tools: ...
- Industry Reports and Market Research Firms:
The earnings reports are public records and are intended to keep the company's investors and potential investors up to date on the company's performance.
How do I get a detailed earnings report? ›
Certified Yearly Totals of Earnings
Yearly earnings totals are free to the public if you do not require certification. To obtain FREE yearly totals of earnings, visit our website at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Section 205 of the Social Security Act, as amended, allows us to collect this information.
Where can I find a company's EPS? ›
The earnings per share (EPS) reported by a company per GAAP accounting standards can be found near the bottom of a company's income statement, right below net income. The section will contain the EPS figures on a basic and diluted basis, as well as the share counts used to compute the EPS.
Where can I get an earnings statement? ›
Visit SSA.gov or call 800-772-1213 for instructions on how to obtain wage information from the SSA.
Where do you find earnings on financial statements? ›
Both net income and earnings are often referred to as a company's bottom line because it's the profit left over after every cost has been deducted and as a result, sits at the bottom of the income statement.
How do you find annual earnings? ›
Multiply your monthly income by 12 months. For instance, if you earn $3,500 per month, multiply this amount by 12. The result, $42,000, is your annual income from that source. If you have multiple monthly income streams, repeat this process for each one and sum the totals.
You can often find information about a company by using their own website. Most companies provide access to their latest annual report (sometimes previous reports) and financial statements. Try Google to find company websites.
Can you see a company's profit? ›
A company's profit and loss (P&L) statement shows the companies revenues, costs, expenses, and net profit for a certain period. The P&L statement can be found on a company's website and is one of the financial statements that public companies are required to issue by law to shareholders.
Can you lookup a company's earnings? ›
2 Earnings reports that have already been released can be found through the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) website—SEC.gov—and other publications, such as Morningstar (as well as on a company's website).
How to look at an earnings report? ›
Key areas of focus should include revenue, net income, earnings per share, and EBIT or earnings before interest and taxes. While the above financial figures are important, make sure to ask the following questions: How did the company perform over the last quarter?
How do I listen to earnings reports? ›
Listen to the Earnings Call
By law, earnings calls are open to the entire public. They are easily accessed by telephone (usually toll-free). To get the telephone number for an earnings call, check the company's website (the investor relations section is usually a good place to start) or the earnings release.
How to find out how much money a company makes? ›
A company's profit and loss (P&L) statement shows the companies revenues, costs, expenses, and net profit for a certain period. The P&L statement can be found on a company's website and is one of the financial statements that public companies are required to issue by law to shareholders.
Are company financial reports public? ›
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that companies distribute annual reports to their shareholders. Annual Reports are also available freely to the public for most U.S. companies that offer stock.
