Glossary
Earnings Call
The scheduled conference call where a company's executives discuss the quarter just reported and take questions from analysts.
It happens shortly after the results are released, usually the same afternoon. The format has two parts: prepared remarks, written in advance and read out, and then a question and answer session with the analysts who cover the company. The second part is where anything unscripted happens.
Anyone can listen. Companies are required to make these calls broadly available rather than briefing selected investors privately, so the audio sits on the company's investor relations page and a written transcript usually appears within a day or two of the call.
The call often moves the price more than the results did. The numbers were compared against expectations that were already public, so the new information is frequently in what management says next: what they expect from the coming quarters, why a margin moved, and which questions they answer in a single sentence.
Related terms
- Earnings ReportA company's quarterly public account of what it earned and spent, filed with regulators and released on a set date.
- GuidanceA company's own published expectation for its coming quarters, such as a revenue range, issued alongside its results.
- 10-QThe quarterly report a US public company files with the SEC, covering three months and lighter than the annual 10-K.
- Analyst RatingA professional stock researcher's published opinion on a company, usually summarized as Buy, Hold, or Sell.
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