How to read an earnings report in 10 minutes

Skip the 80 pages. These few numbers tell you most of the story.

You can extract most of an earnings report's signal in ten minutes by checking four things: revenue and EPS versus expectations, the multi-quarter trend, margins, and guidance. The goal is to see if the business is growing, profitable and on track.

Revenue, EPS and the trend

Compare revenue and earnings per share to consensus and to the same quarter last year. Beating estimates matters, but the trend over several quarters matters more — is growth accelerating or fading? One quarter is noise; a direction is a story.

Margins, guidance and cash

Rising margins mean the company keeps more of every dollar sold — a sign of pricing power. Guidance, the company's own forecast, often moves the stock more than the results. Finally, skim cash flow to confirm the profits are real.

Key takeaways

• Compare revenue/EPS to estimates and last year.
• The multi-quarter trend beats any single quarter.
• Guidance often moves the stock more than results.

This is not financial advice.