The Importance of an Earnings Calendar

One of the tasks that come with being an investor is learning about the stock market, which can be a challenging task, especially if you’re a beginner. Understanding how the stock market works is not easy for someone with no experience. However, that’s where we come in. We publish finance articles in a timely, easy-to-understand manner that will tell you all you need to know about buying stock and lead you to your next best investment.

Our articles teach you all you need to know about stock earnings, the earnings calendar, EPS estimates and much more. On top of that, we keep you in the loop on new releases every week. You can follow our site to learn all about notable earnings this week.

What is an earnings calendar?
An earnings calendar is a quarterly schedule with release dates for financial reports by publicly-traded companies in the US. The law in the US requires publicly traded companies to report their financial results four times a year. These reports are to help the public decide on whether they want to buy stock in a company, keep their current stock or sell out.

An earnings calendar list dates for all the reports that are to be released. Companies are required to file three quarterly statements as 10-Qs and file the last as 10-K. The 10-Qs are required within 45 days after the end of a quarterly while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expects 10-Within 90 days of the fiscal year-end.
Some companies can choose to postpone their announcements for a variety of reasons. One reason can be inexperienced staff, incomplete audits, technical errors, computer crashes, or theft.

Delayed reports can sometimes signal negative earnings, as some companies might even choose to release their reports after hours when very few investors are paying attention. A delay could drive the stock down. As a result, some investors sell their stock, further lowering stock prices.

Most companies release their financial reports during the same seasons. Because of this, they have come to be known as earning seasons. Earning seasons come in January, April, July, and October. However, other companies might choose to have different financial calendars other than the traditional calendar, thus the difference in earning seasons.

A company is allowed to choose its fiscal year-end when its founders first establish it. A fiscal year is the accounting period of a company (12 months). Once selected, the fiscal year-end is constant, and the company cannot alter it.

One reason a company might choose a different calendar is that it has fluctuating profits throughout the year. Therefore, they adjust their release date to minimize the effect of the low-profit seasons.

Why does an earnings calendar matter?
An earnings calendar keeps you up to date on when and what information will be released by a company. If you are an investor in a publicly traded company, you might want to know how it is performing and if your money will yield any returns. Knowing a company’s performance will allow you to make informed decisions regarding your shares.

An earnings calendar gives you updated information on the net sales, net income, and most importantly, the EPS. The EPS is vital as it gives you an idea of what your shares are worth and whether the company’s performance is up to par.

Keeping you updated on incoming financial reports is what we do. We provide news with easy-to-understand analysis on EPS, net incomes, cash flow statements, among other essential things in financial reports. Follow us to get information on notable earnings this week as more companies release their earnings reports.