Stock FAQs

how to read stock earnings

by Selina Keeling Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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  1. Identify the trend line. This is that blue line you see every time you hear about a stock – it’s either going up or down right?
  2. Look for lines of support and resistance. The next thing you’ll want to look at is the lines of resistance and support. ...
  3. Know when dividends and stock splits occur. A dividend is when the company (the board of directors) decides to give a portion of its earnings back to its shareholders.
  4. Understand historic trading volumes. At the very bottom of the chart, you can see many small, vertical lines. ...

To compare the earnings of different companies, investors and analysts often use the ratio earnings per share (EPS). To calculate EPS, take the earnings left over for shareholders and divide by the number of shares outstanding. You can think of EPS as a per-capita way of describing earnings.Feb 10, 2022

Full Answer

What is an earnings report and how to read one?

Apr 23, 2021 · Earnings season is when the majority of companies report and lasts from about a week and a half after the quarter ends until the end of that month. At peak times around 100 firms report each day ...

How to read a stock chart?

Aug 30, 2017 · Basic stock chart terms to know. Open, high, low and previous close. The open is the first price at which a stock trades during regular market hours, while high and low reflect the ... Market cap. Shown here as “Mkt cap,” market cap means market capitalization, which measures the size of a company ...

What do investors look for in earnings?

May 08, 2019 · 3. Identify Trading Volume. In addition to just the trend of the stock's prices, the stock's trading volume is another key factor to look at …

How can I find out more about a stock?

This is an important measure of return of the stock and is calculated by dividing the annual dividend amount by the current stock price. If the stock is at $10 and the company pay out a cash dividend of $0.50 per share, then the annual dividend yield is 5%. EPS. Displays the company's earnings (profit) per share.

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What is a good PE ratio for stocks?

So, what is a good PE ratio for a stock? A “good” P/E ratio isn't necessarily a high ratio or a low ratio on its own. The market average P/E ratio currently ranges from 20-25, so a higher PE above that could be considered bad, while a lower PE ratio could be considered better.

Do you sell before or after earnings?

Option 2: Sell part of every growth stock you own before it reports earnings. Believe it or not, this is a decent half-way measure … if you're running a concentrated portfolio. For instance, if you have, say, 12% of your account in a stock that's about to report, maybe you trim that down to 6% or 8%.Apr 7, 2022

What is a good EPS?

Bottom Line. There's no fixed answer for what is a good EPS. When comparing companies, it's helpful to look closely at how EPS is trending and how it matches up to competitor earnings. Remember that a higher EPS can suggest growth and stock price increases.Apr 7, 2022

Do stocks Go Up After earnings?

Many times, a beat in earnings will drive a stock price up after the market opens, but this should never be taken for granted. In fact, it's not uncommon to see a stock's price fall after beating both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) analyst estimates.Mar 21, 2022

Should you buy a stock just before earnings?

One safe tactic is to wait until the company announces before making your move. You face no downside risk, and will hopefully be able to catch shares on the way up. If the stock gaps up powerfully past a correct buy point and runs out of the normal buy zone, you can still buy on the breakaway gap.Aug 10, 2018

Why do stocks drop after good earnings?

Any downward revisions to future sales, earnings, cash flow, and more could lead to concerns over the stock's future value. Downward revisions or developments that decrease future value expectations can be a fundamental reason why a stock might fall alongside good news.

Is high PE ratio good?

In general, a high P/E suggests that investors are expecting higher earnings growth in the future compared to companies with a lower P/E. A low P/E can indicate either that a company may currently be undervalued or that the company is doing exceptionally well relative to its past trends.

What is a bad EPS?

There is no rule-of-thumb figure that is considered a good or bad EPS, although obviously the higher the figure the better. There is no rule-of-thumb figure that is considered a good or bad EPS, although obviously the higher the figure the better.

Is higher EPS better?

The higher the earnings per share of a company, the better is its profitability. While calculating the EPS, it is advisable to use the weighted ratio, as the number of shares outstanding can change over time.

What does PE ratio tell you?

The price/earnings ratio, also called the P/E ratio, tells investors how much a company is worth. The P/E ratio simply the stock price divided by the company's earnings per share for a designated period like the past 12 months. The price/earnings ratio conveys how much investors will pay per share for $1 of earnings.

What happens to a stock when earnings come out?

An earnings announcement occurs on a specific date during earnings season and is preceded by earnings estimates issued by equity analysts. If a company has been profitable leading up to the announcement, its share price will usually increase up to and slightly after the information is released.

What is earnings report?

An earnings report is a publicly-traded company's report card on how it's fared financially over the last quarter. Learning how to read one is due diligence for investors. Author:

How often do companies report earnings?

Reading an Earnings Report. Four times a year, publicly-traded companies are mandated by U.S. securities law to report their financial earnings, and do so via a form 10Q. That filing goes directly to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) which in turn publishes the company’s earnings so investors have a clean and transparent look ...

Why do earnings matter?

That’s because earnings reports reveal the ingredients needed to generate a company’s profits, which usually leads to a higher stock price.

Do you get dividends if you buy stock before the ex-dividend date?

In order to receive the company’s dividend for the next period, you’ll have to become a shareholder (that is, buy its stock) before the ex-dividend date. If you buy the stock on or after the ex-dividend date, you won’t get the dividend for that period.

What is the closing price of a stock?

to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. During regular trading hours, the price will likely fluctuate. The “after hours” price is $125.15, reflecting the price the stock was currently being traded for outside of regular hours.

Is NerdWallet an investment advisor?

NerdWallet, In c. is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide investment advice.

Does NerdWallet offer brokerage services?

NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. At first glance, stock charts appear to be a chaotic show of lines, colors, numbers and acronyms.

What is the difference between the open and the previous close?

The open is the first price at which a stock trades during regular market hours, while high and low reflect the highest and lowest prices the stock reaches during those hours, respectively. Previous close is the closing price of the previous trading day.

Why are bid ask spreads wider?

And when spreads are wider, it may be more difficult for an investor’s trade to be executed, or for the trade to go through at the price they wanted.

What does beta mean in stock market?

Beta shows how volatile a stock’s price is compared with the stock market, which may be an indicator of how risky the stock is. If beta is greater than one, the stock has historically been more volatile than the stock market (typically represented by either the S&P 500 or a total stock market index) for the specified period. If beta is less than one but greater than zero, it’s been less volatile than the overall market for that period. As always, though, past performance isn’t indicative of future performance.

What is earnings report?

The earnings report is the predominant method for a publicly-traded company to report its financial results for a specific period. Investors can use a company's earnings report to gain insight into how well a company is run and whether the company is performing well. However, it's important to note that earnings reports often present ...

Do you have to be an equity analyst to read an earnings report?

You don't have to be an equity analyst to read and understand an earnings report. Although there are many publicly traded companies posting earnings reports each quarter, concentrate on stocks that are of interest to you. Remember that even if the information found in the earnings report makes you avoid the stock, reading the report is still a worthwhile activity. After all, it saved you from making a bad choice.

What is included in a 10Q?

The 10-Q contains financial information including: 1 income statement 2 balance sheet 3 statement of cash flows 4 management's discussions about the earnings results and overall financial condition 5 disclosures of market risks facing the company.

What is a press release for a 10-Q?

The press release often contains nothing more than a few paragraphs of information, a statement from executives, and outlines of some of the key elements of interest to investors, including revenue, net income, cash flow, earnings per share, and dividends.

What is included in a press release?

The press release often contains nothing more than a few paragraphs of information, a statement from executives, and outlines of some of the key elements of interest to investors, including revenue, net income, cash flow, earnings per share, and dividends.

Is a 10-Q audited?

It is important to note, however, that the financial statements are not audited .

Is a financial statement audited?

It is important to note, however, that the financial statements are not audited . The first part of the document outlines which company is filing the report, for what period, what state the company is incorporated in, tax identification information, and the primary business location.

What is the ticker symbol on a stock?

The ticker symbol is the symbol that is used on the stock exchange to delineate a given stock. For example, Apple's ticker is ( AAPL) - Get Report on Nasdaq, while Snapchat's ticker is ( SNAP) - Get Report on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The ticker is usually found under a column titled "ticker," or, in some cases, right next to the name of the stock in parentheses.

What is stock chart?

A stock chart or table is a set of information on a particular company's stock that generally shows information about price changes, current trading price, historical highs and lows, dividends, trading volume and other company financial information.

What does it mean when a stock closes?

The close price is perhaps more significant than the open price for most stocks. The close is the price at which the stock stopped trading during normal trading hours (after-hours trading can impact the stock price as well). If a stock closes above the previous close, it is considered an upward movement for the stock (and will impact things like candlestick charts, which we'll get to later). Vice versa, if a stock's close price is below the previous day's close, the stock is showing a downward movement.

What are the two axes on a stock chart?

Every stock chart has two axes - the price axis and the time axis. The horizontal (or bottom) axis shows the time period selected for the stock chart. This can generally be customized to show anything from a year time period (or even multiple years) to a day.

What are the lines of support and resistance on a stock chart?

Still, another important aspect to examine on a stock chart are lines of support and resistance. Whenever a stock trades up or down, it generally falls within what are called support and resistance lines. Essentially, the support line is a certain price that the stock generally doesn't drop beneath - it "supports" the stock upward and keeps it from trading below that price given market signals. Conversely, the resistance line is a certain price that the stock typically doesn't trade above - it "resists" the stock pushing through that top price.

What does EPS mean in stock?

Earnings per share, or EPS, can be found on many stock charts, and is a good indicator of how well the company is doing. EPS measures the amount of net profits a company has earned per share of their stock. For investors, EPS essentially represents the portion of the company's profits that their shares have a stake in.

What is a 52 week high and low?

The 52-week high and low show the highest and lowest prices at which the stock traded in that time period, although they don't often show the previous day's trading price.

What does it mean when you look up a stock quote?

When you look up a stock quote, there a variety of numbers, prices and diagrams that will appear. Understanding what they all mean will help you make an informed decision when purchasing a stock.

What is stock chart?

stock charts come in a variety of formats and have a whole investing technique based around them. They all track pricing data, usually the OHLC (open, high, low close), but they can display this information in different styles (lines, bars, candlesticks), different date ranges (day, week, month, year, 5 years, 10 years) and other information like volume, moving averages and dozens of other indicators.

What does volume mean in stocks?

Volume. This indicates the number of shares that have traded hands today. Some stocks may trade millions of shares each day, and others only trade a few hundred or even zero (the higher the volume, the more liquid the stock is).

What is market cap?

Is the total dollar market value of all of a company's outstanding shares. Market cap is calculated by multiplying a company's shares outstanding by the current market price of one share. This figure determines the company's relative size.

What does a beta of 1 mean?

Is used to measure the volatility of a stock as compared to the market as a whole. A beta of 1 means the stock moves up or down more quickly than the market overall; a beta between 0 and 1 means the stock doesn't move as much as the market, and a negative beta means the stock moves in the opposite direction of the market.

Does Robinhood charge commissions?

Robinhood was the first brokerage site to NOT charge commissions when they opened in 2013. They just past 10,000,000 accounts and to celebrate they are offering up to $1,000 in free stock when you open a new account. Here's the details: You must click on a special promo link to open your new Robinhood account.

What does a negative beta mean?

A beta of 1 means the stock moves up or down more quickly than the market overall; a beta between 0 and 1 means the stock doesn't move as much as the market, and a negative beta means the stock moves in the opposite direction of the market.

What is the meaning of earnings per share?

Earnings per share (EPS) is a company's net income (or earnings) divided by the number of common shares outstanding. EPS shows how much a company earns for each share, with a higher EPS indicating ...

How often are earnings reported?

Earnings reports are released four times per year and are followed very closely by Wall Street.

What does EPS mean in stock?

Earnings per share (EPS) is a company's net income (or earnings) divided by the number of common shares outstanding. EPS shows how much a company earns for each share, with a higher EPS indicating the stock has a higher value when compared to others in its industry.

What is a company's earnings?

A company's earnings are, quite simply, its profits. Take a company's revenue from selling something, subtract all the costs to produce that product, and, voila, you have earnings! Of course, the details of accounting get a lot more complicated, but earnings always refer to how much money a company makes minus costs.

What is earnings in accounting?

Of course, the details of accounting get a lot more complicated, but earnings always refer to how much money a company makes minus costs. Its many synonyms cause part of the confusion associated with earnings. The terms profit, net income, bottom line, and earnings all refer to the same thing. Whether you call it earnings, net income, profits, ...

How to calculate EPS?

To calculate EPS, take the earnings left over for shareholders and divide by the number of shares outstanding. You can think of EPS as a per-capita way of describing earnings.

How often does Earnings Season happen?

Earnings season is the Wall Street equivalent of a school report card. It happens four times per year; publicly traded companies in the U.S. are required by law to report their financial results on a quarterly basis. Most companies follow the calendar year for reporting, but they do have the option of reporting based on their own fiscal calendars .

Why use P/E ratio?

The most common use of the P/E ratio is to gauge the valuation of a stock or index. The higher the ratio, the more expensive a stock is relative to its earnings. The lower the ratio, the less expensive the stock. In this way, stocks and equity mutual funds can be classified as “growth” or “value” investments.

What is the Shiller P/E ratio?

A third approach is to use average earnings over a period of time. The most well known example of this approach is the Shiller P/E ratio, also known as the CAP/E ratio (cyclically adjusted price earnings ratio).

Is Amazon a growth company?

An investment with an above average price-to-earnings ratio, for example, might be classified as a growth investment . Amazon, with a PE currently at about 123, is an example of a growth company.

Can I read stock charts?

A great starting point is being able to read and understand stock charts. Yes, that doesn’t sound all that exciting, but doing this gives you an advantage when you want to truly analyze a stock to buy. In the article, I’ll break down the essentials of a stock chart and explain the key things you need to focus on.

What is stock chart?

In its most basic form, a stock chart is exactly what I said above – a chart with historic prices of a particular stock.

What is level of support?

These are levels at which the stock stays within, over a given period of time. A level of support is a price that a stock is unlikely to drop below, while a level of resistance is one that it’s unlikely to go above. That is until some major change occurs, such as a reduced profit margin.

What is public stock trading?

Public. Public makes stock trading a social event – literally. When you use Public, you’ll have access to a community of investors – both long-time, experienced investors and beginner investors. This allows you to chat with others and get a sense of which investing strategy may work best for you.

What is the minimum balance for M1 finance?

M1 charges no commissions or management fees, and their minimum starting balance is just $100. Visit Site

What is Chris's MBA?

Chris has an MBA with a focus in advanced investments and has been writing about all things personal finance since 2015. He’s also built and run a digital marketing agency, focusing on content marketing, copywriting, and SEO, since 2016. You can connect with Chris on Twitter.

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Earnings Reporting

The Components of An Earnings Report

  • Companies are legally required to file a quarterly report, a 10-Q, an annual report, or the 10-Kwith the SEC. The 10-Q contains financial information including: 1. income statement 2. balance sheet 3. statement of cash flows 4. management's discussions about the earnings results and overall financial condition 5. disclosures of market risks facing ...
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Financial Risk Factors

  • Once you have a sense of a company's financial health, it's time to check out the risks that it might be facing in the coming quarters. Move on to Part II (Other Information) and check out Item I (Legal Proceedings). If a company has outstanding lawsuits, it has to report them along with a brief description of the lawsuits. The company won't necessarily attach a price tag to a particula…
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The Bottom Line

  • You don't have to be an equity analyst to read and understand an earnings report. Although there are many publicly traded companies posting earnings reports each quarter, concentrate on stocks that are of interest to you. Remember that even if the information found in the earnings report makes you avoid the stock, reading the report is still a worthwhile activity. After all, it saved you f…
See more on investopedia.com

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