Annual and quarterly financial statements are made available to the public only after the financial statements are prepared and audited by an accounting/auditing firm. This time lag can span up to six weeks; yet companies always release key information to the public earlier through an earnings announcement.

Earnings announcements are made available to traders on the stock exchange and are reported in the financial press such as the Wall Street Journal. Earnings announcements provide key summary information about a company position and performance for quarterly and annual periods.

Select a public company of interest and research the company’s recent earnings announcements. Try using Google Finance or Yahoo Finance, for example, by searching on the company of your choice.

Read about the company’s earnings:

• What was the market’s reaction to the self-reported earnings announcement?

• Briefly analyze the reported earnings per share; what is the company’s earnings outlook for the coming year?

• What are the company’s ‘business-related’ comments for the period in question [first quarter, for example]?

• What is the company reporting about near-term trends in revenue/growth/earnings?

• What were the company’s accomplishments for the period?