How to read a quarterly earnings report without getting lost
Revenue, margins, GAAP versus adjusted figures, diluted EPS and guidance: a step-by-step way to read a company's quarterly results.
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Business News Analysis explains how business and the economy work: the reports, rates and prices behind the headlines, in plain language and with links to the official sources. More about us.
Latest analysis
- Economy
The jobs report, explained: payrolls, the unemployment rate and revisions
The monthly US jobs report comes from two different surveys. Here is what each measures, why they can disagree, and why the first number is often revised.
- Economy
CPI vs PCE: why the US has two main inflation measures
The Consumer Price Index and the PCE price index both track inflation, but they differ in scope, weights and method. Here is why the Federal Reserve targets PCE.
- Finance
How a Federal Reserve rate decision reaches your loans and savings
The Fed sets one overnight interest rate. Here is how that decision flows through to credit cards, car loans, savings accounts and mortgages, and why some rates barely move.
- Real Estate
Why mortgage rates follow the 10-year Treasury, not the Fed
Thirty-year mortgage rates are set in the bond market. Here is how the 10-year Treasury yield, mortgage-backed securities and the spread between them determine what borrowers pay.
- Small Business
Profit vs cash flow: why profitable small businesses still run out of cash
A small business can show a profit and still be unable to pay its bills. Here is how receivables, inventory, loan payments and taxes open a gap between profit and cash, and how to manage it.
- Finance
The inverted yield curve: what it does and does not tell you
An inverted yield curve has preceded US recessions for decades, but it is not a timer. Here is how the curve works, which spreads economists watch, and the limits of the signal.
- Energy
What goes into the price of a gallon of gasoline
Crude oil, refining, distribution and taxes each take a share of the pump price. Here is how the pieces fit together and why pump prices can lag behind oil.
- Politics
Who actually pays a tariff?
A tariff is paid at the border by the importer, but the cost can land on consumers, businesses or foreign exporters. Here is how tariffs work and what research on recent US tariffs found.
- Business
Gross, operating and net margin: what each one tells you about a business
Profit margins show how much of each dollar of sales a company keeps. Here is how gross, operating and net margin differ, how to compare them fairly, and what changes in each usually mean.
Coverage
Business
Companies, industries and the decisions that move them.
Small Business
Costs, credit, hiring and the realities of running a smaller firm.
Earnings
Quarterly results, guidance and what the numbers say about a company.
Economy
Jobs, inflation, growth and the data behind them.
Finance
Markets, rates, banking and personal money decisions.
Real Estate
Housing, commercial property and mortgage markets.
Energy
Oil, gas, power and the transition, and how prices ripple outward.