When is earnings season?

US-listed companies report every quarter, and most large ones must file their quarterly report (Form 10-Q) with the SEC within 40 days of the quarter’s end, so results cluster in the weeks that follow. The drawing at the top of the page shades the four seasons: roughly mid-January to February for the fourth quarter, mid-April to May for the first, mid-July to August for the second and mid-October to November for the third.

Large banks are traditionally among the first big companies to report, about two weeks after the quarter ends, and the busiest weeks usually come a few weeks later. After the fourth quarter, companies file the annual Form 10-K instead, which has a longer deadline, and companies whose fiscal quarters do not match the calendar, such as many retailers, report outside the main weeks. Each company announces its date in advance; most brokers and charting platforms list upcoming reports, and the economic calendar covers the macro releases that land in the same weeks.

Earnings season
The weeks after each calendar quarter ends, when most companies publish their quarterly results.
Before the open / after the close (BMO / AMC)
When a company releases results: before the 9:30 a.m. ET open or after the 4:00 p.m. ET close. The first reaction then trades in the pre-market or after-hours session.

What do companies report, and what is a beat or a miss?

The headline numbers are EPS and revenue compared with the consensus estimate, plus guidance, the company’s own forecast for the coming quarter or year. A beat means the actual figure came in above the consensus, a miss below it. The step-by-step method, from margins to GAAP vs adjusted EPS, is in how to read an earnings report; earnings per share explains the number itself.

During the season, one report can move others. A strong result from a large chip maker can lift its suppliers and peers, and a weak outlook from a big retailer can weigh on the whole sector. When the largest companies in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 report, whole indexes can move with them.

Why can a stock fall after beating earnings?

Because the price reacts to results against expectations, and the expectations that matter can be higher than the published consensus. Common reasons: guidance below what investors hoped for, a beat that came from cost cuts or one-off items rather than sales, slowing growth, or a run-up before the report that had already priced in good news. A miss can rally for the opposite reasons.

Hypothetical: XYZ rises from $90 to $100 in the month before its report. It beats on EPS and revenue but guides next-quarter revenue below the consensus, and it opens the next morning at $93. The headline said beat; the price said not enough.

The implied move and IV crush: what options price in

Options get more expensive before a report, because nobody knows the numbers yet. Implied volatility (IV) usually climbs in the days before and often drops sharply once the results are out, the IV crush explained in implied volatility.

The implied, or expected, move is a rough size of the reaction the options market is pricing. A common shortcut is the price of the at-the-money straddle, a call plus a put at the same strike, in the first expiration after the report. Hypothetical, as in the drawing below: XYZ trades at $100, the $100 call costs $4.10 and the $100 put $3.90, so the straddle costs $8.00 and the market is pricing roughly ±$8, or ±8%: about $92 to $108. The $93 open above, a 7% drop, stayed inside that range. It is a size, not a direction or a limit: the stock can move much less or much more.

For option buyers this cuts both ways: if the stock moves less than the implied move, the crush can take much of the premium even when the direction was right. The straddle and strangle guide covers positions built on this.

Turn your phone sideways to read the drawing. Tap to close.

A hand-drawn price line drifting near 100.00 up to a dotted line labeled report, then a yellow band from 92.00 to 108.00 with arrows up and down from 100.00, labeled implied move ±8.00. A card on the right reads at-the-money straddle: call 4.10 + put 3.90 = 8.00 ≈ ±8%; below it, implied volatility bars of 80% before and 35% after, with a red arrow labeled IV crush. Note: a size, not a direction or a limit.

Gap risk: why a stop may not protect you on report day

Most companies report before the open or after the close, so the reaction usually arrives as a gap at the next open. A stop order does not fill at the stop price when the stock opens beyond it: once triggered, it becomes a market order and fills at the next available price.

Hypothetical, as in the drawing below: 100 shares bought at $50.00 with a stop at $48.00 risk $200, or 1R. The company reports after the close, and the stock opens at $45.00. The stop fills near $45.00, a loss of about $500, or 2.5R. The gap trading strategy guide covers what gaps often do after the open.

Turn your phone sideways to read the drawing. Tap to close.

Hand-drawn candles climbing from about 50 to 51.70 above a dashed entry line at 50.00 and a red dashed stop at 48.00, then a dotted line labeled report after the close and a shaded gap down to a candle that opens at 45.00, circled in red with the note stop fills near the open. A card on the right compares the planned loss, 100 × 2.00 = −$200 (−1R), with the actual loss, 100 × 5.00 = −$500 (−2.5R).

A pre-earnings checklist

Many swing traders treat a report date as a risk event to plan around, not a coin flip. A common routine, drawn below:

  1. Two weeks ahead: note the date and time of every report for stocks you hold or watch, before the open or after the close.
  2. The week before: decide for each position whether to hold a smaller size, reduce or exit. Size anything you hold so that a gap as large as the implied move, or larger, stays survivable.
  3. The last days before the report: take no new entries, because the stop cannot be trusted through a gap.
  4. Report day: let the first reaction settle; the opening range breakout guide covers that first stretch of the session.
  5. Afterwards: note the result against the implied move in your trading journal.

Turn your phone sideways to read the drawing. Tap to close.

A hand-drawn timeline titled a common pre-earnings routine, with five numbered stops from left to right: 2 weeks before, know the date: before the open or after the close?; 1 week before, decide: hold smaller, reduce or exit; last 2 days, no new entries, on a red hatched stretch; report day, report: expect a gap; the day after, let the first range form, then log it.