All posts by T3 Live
Meet Kira Turner
Meet Kira Turner, the newest moderator in the Inner Circle room on the Virtual Trading Floor©. Kira is a full-time professional stock and options trader based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her three children and two dogs. She traded at Cornerstone Trading from 1994-2001, and reentered the pro arena in 2018 after managing a large Real Estate investment portfolio. Kira graduated from Texas Tech University in 1990, where she competed as a member of the rodeo team. She later cultivated a passion for skydiving. She credits her rodeo and skydiving experience for giving her a healthy education in risk management during high-pressure situations. Kira believes in 3 core principles: Always rotate to what’s acting best now Manage your risk to reduce your risk Learn for life Beginning as a scalper, Kira now integrates both day and swing trading into her style, and deals in equities and options. She is also a passionate educator, and loves helping active traders fulfill their potential. To learn more about the Inner Circle Room on the VTF©, please click here.
Continue Reading -->Thank You For Joining the #5KPushupChallenge!
We’d like to thank everyone that turned out for Scott Redler’s first-ever #5KPushupChallenge! Scott’s Father’s Day #5KPushupChallenge was T3 Live’s second charity fundraiser of 2020 following our April Covid-19 benefit. On Father’s Day, traders from all around the world did pushups to raise thousands of dollars for 3 important causes: (scroll down to see some of the video entrants) Wounded Warrior Project: The Wounded Warrior Project provides free support programs to veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound while serving in the military on or after September 11, 2001. First Responders Children’s Foundation: First Responders Children’s Foundation provides financial support to both children who have lost a parent in the line of duty as well as families enduring significant financial hardships due to tragic circumstances. Food Bank for New York City: Food Bank For New York City is the city’s largest hunger-relief organization, and has been working to end food poverty in our five boroughs for over 35 years. If you’d like to give back to these organizations, feel free to donate directly! We awarded 5 entrants prizes for Most Impressive Video, Funniest Video, as well as 3 random prizes to random entrants. All prizes have been awarded and the winners have been notified. Here are some of our favorite videos from the challenge: (please give the page a minute to load) Here’s Scott and his son Chace:#5kpushupchallenge let’s go! https://t.co/q2hI2Kafjs— Scott Redler (@RedDogT3) June 21, 2020 A little AC/DC tribute:@RedDogT3 #5kpushupchallenge pic.twitter.com/jsHZDfroPj— William Baxter (@distgenerate) June 21, 2020 David showing off with his Grandson:@RedDogT3 #5kpushupchallengePush ups with a little spice as my grandson chills next to me! pic.twitter.com/EMrjY69r5J— David Garfinkel (@Dave_Garfinkel) June 21, 2020 Ramesh and his girls:@RedDogT3 #5Kpushupchallenge @t3live We are able to do 70 together..Happy Fathers Day.. pic.twitter.com/p8B0fHclQf— Ramesh Kumar (@hello_mr_ramesh) June 21, 2020 Two participants on the beach:@RedDogT3 76+49 = 125#5Kpushupchallenge pic.twitter.com/wziJuCtWok— Steven Cohn (@spcohn) June 21, 2020 Geoff getting it done:@RedDogT3 #5Kpushupchallenge pic.twitter.com/IFciKwzQmx— Geoff Wells (@geoffreywells) June 21, 2020 The Barkley quartet:@RedDogT3 #5kpushupchallenge pic.twitter.com/82mb8cWOxV— Mitchell Barkley (@mitchbarkley46) June 21, 2020 And finally, a team stepped up for the challenge on a boat:#5Kpushupchallenge pic.twitter.com/dq8JS97zcv— Jason Silver (@jsilver74) June 21, 2020 Thank you again to everyone who participated in Scott’s Father’s Day #5KPushupChallenge! We plan on finding more fun and interactive ways to give back in the future. If you’d like to participate, sign up to get Scott’s Moving Averages eBook and we’ll add you to our email list. In the meantime, we wish you all the best with your trading!
Continue Reading -->10 Books Every Trader Needs to Read
Whether a trader is a seasoned professional or just starting their career, they can turn to books written by experts who know the market to advance their trading knowledge. The books included in this list are stalwarts of the industry, having been resources for some of the most successful traders. They cover a wide range of topics, including technical analysis, trading psychology, futures and Forex trading, meaning any trader can find something they can learn from. Hit and Run Trading: The Short-Term Stock Trader’s Bible by Jeff Cooper Over his professional trading career, Jeff Cooper has developed dozens of proprietary strategies that help traders profit in any market. In “Hit and Run Trading,” Cooper explains how traders can use these strategies – which have helped trading pros like CNBC’s Jim Cramer — to succeed in both day and swing trades. This books is the foundation of a storied 30+ year career, and includes dozens of secrets for gaming institutions, playing gaps, and finding the best momentum names. (click here for a special deal on this classic) How to Make Money in Stocks by William J. O’Neil William J. O’Neil published the most recent edition of “How to Make Money in Stocks” after the 2008 market crash. He believes that proper market timing, trading, and interpretation of charts can have a massive impact on your profitability. Choosing the most profitable stocks and knowing when to buy and sell is crucial to making profits, and this book instructs traders on those principles. O’Neil has developed a powerful system — called CANSLIM — to minimize risk and maximize profits, even teaching traders how to earn more in a bearish market. Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude by Mark Douglas While Douglas’ book includes technical information about choosing markets to trade and determining entry triggers, most of the book focuses on how to overcome psychological barriers that prevent traders from succeeding. Douglas takes a closer look at the patterns within the market that lead to negative behaviors and mentalities for traders, proposing strategies that help traders understand the risk they are taking on and how to be more comfortable with the market. This book is a favorite of T3 Live’s Sami Abusaad. Reminiscences of a Stock Trader by Edwin Lefèvre Unlike other books on trading, ‘Reminiscences of a Stock Trader’ is a fictional story, although it’s based on the real life of famous trader Jesse Livermore. The book follows the career of Larry Livingston as he progresses from a quotation-board boy to an experienced trader. Readers can learn from the mistakes that Larry makes and watch him improve his own techniques. The Market Wizards Series of by Jack Schwager Schwager turned to legendary traders to provide advice for “The Market Wizards” series of books. He interviewed some of the most successful traders in the business to describe their experiences with trading psychology, strategy development, and profit maximization. The lessons in this book can apply to traders at any level, whether they are just starting out as interns or have been trading for years. There practically isn’t a trader alive that hasn’t devoured the Market Wizards series of books. One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market by Peter Lynch Most people believe that accomplished professionals have an advantage over average traders because they have more experience or work for major financial companies. But mutual fund manager Peter Lynch thinks the average investor actually has a leg up on Wall Street pros. He believes traders can use simple, everyday observations to gain an edge, and explains exactly how to do so. The Way of the Turtle by Curtis M. Faith In 1983, two professional traders, Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt, set up an experiment to determine whether or not traders were born with a special gift or if they could be taught how to trade successfully. Dennis believed he could train a group of people to be traders, just like turtles were raised on farms in Indonesia, so the group members were called “turtles.” The most successful of the group, Curtis Faith, wrote “The Way of the Turtle” to give further insight into the experiment, including everything the turtles were taught and the results they experienced from the lessons. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham Benjamin Graham is often considered to be the “father of value investing” or the “dean of Wall Street” because his ideas have been foundational to so many investors; one of his students was Warren Buffett, famous investor and one of the richest people in the world. Graham wanted to teach traders how to manage risk, increase profits and remain disciplined. “The Intelligent Investor” is key to developing smart investment strategies. Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications by John J. Murphy In order to be successful, traders must understand technical analysis so they can predict market moves and know when to buy or sell. John J. Murphy’s “Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets” takes a deep dive into understanding market trends, chart patterns, intermarket relationships and trading tactics, among other things. It includes the basics of analytical methods, making the book a great resource for beginning traders or for anyone looking to advance their technical analysis skills. Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom by Van Tharp All traders want to make profits and have winning trades, but trading is just as much about reducing or avoiding losses. Van Tharp’s book focuses on helping traders manage their risk and reduce their losing trades so they can profit as much as possible. “Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom” also includes information on trading psychology, which can put traders in the mindset they need to get over their personal biases about the market and bounce back from losses. Tharp’s techniques can be applied to a variety of trading styles, including futures and Forex trading.
Continue Reading -->2020 Trader Poll Results: You LOVE Amazon
Yesterday, we held an informal, unscientific poll to measure traders’ expectations for 2020. This is what we found: 52.8% of survey respondents believe the SPX will rise more than 10% in 2020. 17.6% said it would fall more than 10%, with 29.6% saying it would finish somewhere in the middle. Then, we measured expectations for a crash. 31.7% of respondents said the SPX will fall more than 10% in a singly day. This seems awfully high, considering that this has only happened three times going back to 1929. In terms of asset classes, traders are most bullish on stocks. 55.1% said stocks would perform best in 2020. We next took a lot at sectors to see which sectors traders are most bullish and bearish on. Survey respondents were most positive on tech, with 71.1% said they were bullish on technology. Real Estate was down at the bottom, with just 15% bullishness reported. Traders’ positive view on tech is no surprise given that QQQ is up almost 40% in 2019, with the Semiconductors ETF (SMH) up 63%. And finally, we asked traders what their #1 stock of 2020 was. And the positivity towards tech continued there. AMZN was the #1 choice by a country mile, with more than double the number of votes of the second place pick, AAPL. MSFT and TSLA were in the 3rd and 4th positions, respectively. Want to participate in our next Trader Survey in January? Join our mailing list below:
Continue Reading -->T3 Live’s 2020 Trader Poll: Where Do YOU Think the Market’s Going?
Take our year-end trader poll and give us YOUR analysis of what’s coming next. Then, click here to save 40% on education and subscriptions. Loading… P.S. Don’t forget to click right here to save 40% on education and subscriptions.
Continue Reading -->51 Options Trading Terms You Need to Know
Everyone wants to trade options. But options terminology can be confusing if you’ve never traded this complex asset class. So we’ve put together a list of 51 options trading terms you need to know. And if you’d like to learn an interesting strategy for event-driven options trade, watch Daniel Darrow’s Options In Play webinar. Adjusted Options When a company goes through some kind of change (a merger, split, acquisition, etc.) that changes the value of its stock, the price of the options the company owns will be adjusted to reflect that change. This retains the overall equity of the options. American Style/European Style If an option contract is considered “American style,” then the contract can be exercised at any point up to and including the day of expiration. They make up the majority of options listed on an exchange. This is opposed to “European style” options, which are only able to be exercised on the day of expiration. Many index options are European-style. Before buying and selling any option, be aware of all contract terms. Assignment When an option seller has been given an assignment, they are forced to sell or buy stock at the current strike price, with the quantity of shares determined by the number of contracts. Traders are most commonly assigned stock if they short a call option that expired in the money. Different brokerage firms may have different rules for assignment, so check with yours. At the Money An option that is at the money (ATM) has a strike price that roughly matches the price of its underlying security. For example, if TSLA is trading at $350.23, its $350 call and put options will be considered at the money. ATM options do not have intrinsic value, but they may have time value up until their expiration. Binary Option With a binary option, buyers only have two outcomes: they receive a fixed profit, or lose their whole investment. If the option surpasses a specified price by a certain time, then the trader profits. If it doesn’t surpass that price, the trader loses the money they spent on the contracts. Black Scholes Pricing Model The Black Scholes Pricing Model (sometimes called the Black Scholes Merton model) is a mathematical formula that determines the price of an option. However, the standard model only measures the prices of European options. It does not take into account the possibility that an American style option may be exercised before the expiration date. Break-Even Point An option contract reaches its break-even point when it trades at a price that does not give a profit or loss. Calls A call option contract gives the holder the right to buy a specified amount of an asset at a specific price up until the option expires. The holder isn’t obligated to buy the asset. If the option is exercised, the seller is obligated to sell the asset at the strike price, although they are paid a premium for taking on this risk. The premium is what the buyer paid for the option. Chain A trader can find any information they need to know about an underlying security through an option chain, or an option matrix. An option chain lists all available contracts for a particular asset, including both puts and calls, strike prices and pricing information within a specific maturity period. Contract Name Similarly to how all stocks have tickers, all options have contract names that identify them. The name is a combination of letters and numbers that match up to the details in that contract, including the symbol of the underlying stock, expiration date and strike price. Here is a ticker for a JP Morgan (JPM) option from the Thinkorswim platform (these tickers will appear slightly different on other platforms): .JPM191220C140 In this case: JPM is the underlying security 19 = the year 2019 12 = the month of December 20 = the 20th day of the month C = call option 140 = $140 stock price Covered Call/Covered Put Covered calls and covered puts are two of the most popular options trading strategies. In the case of a covered call, when a trader is long on a stock, they can sell call options against the position to generate income. Let’s say a trader is long 100 shares of Tesla and shorts a $400 call option. They receive a premium for the sale of the call option. And since they are now short a $400 call option, they are also agreeing to sell the 100 shares of Tesla stock at $400. A covered put is similar, only the trader is short a stock and also shorts puts on that stock. Delta Delta estimates how much an option’s price will change relative to changes in price of the underlying security. The delta value for a call is positive (between 0 and 1.0) because the prices for both the security and the derivative increase, while the delta value for a put is negative (between 0 and -1.0) because the price of the derivative decreases as the price of the asset increases. If a call option has a delta value of 0.35, then as the price of the asset increases by $1, the price of the derivative also increases by about $0.35. If a put option has a delta value of 0.35, then as the price of the asset increases by $1, the price of the derivative decreases by $0.35. Derivative Any security that relies on an underlying asset or group of assets to determine its value is considered a derivative. An option is a type of derivative because its price is derived from the value of its underlying stock. Derivatives can be traded over an exchange or over-the-counter. Exercise When a trader decides to exercise their option contracts, they are choosing to use the right that the contract gives them to either buy or sell the underlying security at the strike price. Exercising the option before its expiration is called early exercise. Expiration Date Unlike
Continue Reading -->50 Stock Trading Terms You Need to Know
Trading can seem daunting to anyone just starting out, and all the terminology you have to learn makes it worse. Learning some key terms can help a beginner trader start to understand the basics of trading, and prepare them for more in-depth trading education. Below is a list of 50 terms that all traders should know. This is an amazing way to start your trading education journey. This guide to trading lingo is especially helpful for T3 Live subscribers — it will prepare you to better follow our instructors and to start profiting quickly. Arbitrage Arbitrage is the practice of buying and selling an asset in two different venues simultaneously to profit off a difference in the price. There is typically no holding period because both transactions happen at the same time. Ask The ask price is the price a seller is willing to accept for their stock. An ask quote will include the price and the number of share available to be sold at that price. Bear Market A bear market is a market that has declined 20% from the highs. The phrase “bear market” sometimes also refers to an individual security or commodity that has declined by at least 20%. More on Bear Markets Bid In comparison to the ask price, the bid price is the amount a buyer is willing to pay for a stock. Blue Chip Stocks “Blue chip stocks” are big name companies that are well-established and with a large market value. The name comes from blue poker chips, which are the most valuable chips. Blue chip companies are usually valued at $10 billion or more and can be found in a major market index, like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100. Bull Market A bull market is the opposite of a bear market. In a bull market, stocks are 20% off the lows. More on Bull Markets Candlesticks A candlestick looks like the wax part of a candle, and marks the opening or closing price of the stock and will be either black or red (if the stock closed lower) or white or green (if the stock closed higher). The thinner parts of a candlestick on the top and bottom, which look like the wicks on a candle, mark the highest and lowest prices of the day. T3 Live Director of Education Sami Abusaad explains the candlestick chart in the Strategic Day Trader Ultimate Guide Common Stock Common stock is the type of stock that most people invest in; it represents a share of ownership in a corporation and affords the investor the right to vote on the company’s board of directors and policies. Common stock owners also have a claim on profits, although they are at the bottom of the priority ladder if the company goes bankrupt (creditors and preferred shareholders receive their shares first). Cover Covering is the closing (or reducing of a short position). When a short position is initiated, the trader is selling shares they don’t actually own. Covering is when some or all of those shares are bought back. Day Trade A trade is one where thee position is bought and sold within the span of a single trading day. Day traders capitalize on short-term market moves in order to make a profit. T3 Live’s Strategic Day Trader subscription will help you understand day trading and guide you into making the best trades. Dividend When a company makes a profit, they can distribute portions of their earnings to stockholder through dividends. Dividends may come in the form of cash, additional shares of stock, or other property. Not all stocks pay dividends. Earnings Report Each quarter, public companies publish an earnings report detailing their most recent performance. The report includes an update of the company’s profit and loss statement, assets, liabilities, equity and cash flows. Shareholders can learn more about the company’s financial health and change their investment accordingly. The value of the company’s stock will fluctuate wildly on the day the report is released. Equity There are multiple financial definitions for “equity,” although the most common refers to the amount of assets that shareholders can claim if the company liquidated or paid off their debts. This is also called stockholders’ equity. In comparison, owner’s equity refers to the money that remains when the company has repaid its creditors after liquidating its assets. In some cases, equity is simply used to refer to stocks, particularly common stocks. ETFs ETF stands for exchange-traded fund, a grouping of multiple securities that can be traded on major exchanges like a stock. ETFs are divided into shares, which give the shareholders proportional shares of the total assets, although they do not own the underlying assets (which are owned by the fund provider). ETFs are designed to track the value of an asset, although they trade at prices determined by the market. ETFs that track a stock index will pay out lump dividend payments to investors for the stocks that make up the index. Fill When an order is placed to buy or sell a stock, the fulfillment of that order is called a fill. There are multiple ways of filling an order, depending on which type it is. If a market order is placed, the investor is telling the broker to either buy or sell that stock at the best available current price. If a limit order is placed, the order will be filled once the stock reaches a specific price; if that price is not met during the predetermined period of time, the order will not be filled. A stop order, or stop-loss order, is a limit order that becomes a market order once the set price is achieved. The order will be filled at the next available market price. Forex Forex is simply a nickname for the foreign exchange market. The market includes multiple countries and exchanges currencies rather than assets. Forex is the largest exchange market in the world, with trading occurring 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Continue Reading -->Webinar Replay: 9 Reasons to Join Sami Abusaad’s Earnings Engine
Ever wonder how some traders catch big earnings moves you never even saw coming?Does it seem like they are operating at a higher level? They are — and you can too!Try Sami Abusaad’s Earnings Engine LIVE course — his master plan for predicting post-earnings moves like a pro. Watch the webinar replay, then scroll down to learn more about this one-of-a-kind LIVE education program. Join Sami Abusaad for Earnings Engine LIVESaturday, October 12, 20199:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ETSave $100 – Limited Time Offer! 01 Days 05 Hours 22 Minutes 46 Seconds Click to Sign Up Here are 9 reasons to consider joining:9) Sami Has Made Up to $86,800 in a Single Day With This StrategyIn this video, you’ll see how Sami made over $86,000 in a single day trading earnings: Obviously, we can’t promise profits like this to everyone — but it shows you the power of the Earnings Engine method.8) Sami Spent 7 Years Perfecting This Strategy So You Don’t Have ToThat’s thousands of hours spent developing his Earnings Plays before trading them.Why did it take so long?Because he wanted total confirmation that this method works. He may have left hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table — but that’s what it took for Sami to be sure. 7) You’ll Be More Excited About Earnings Season Than You Could Possibly ImagineTrading is hard work, but it can be incredibly exciting… if you’re making money.Armed with Sami’s strategies, you’ll be ready to attack earning season like a pro — with more confidence, and less stress.6) You’ll Be Shocked At How Simple the Process Is (Especially the Trade Management)If you take Earnings Engine, trading earnings will become as easy as following a few super easy steps. Sami has helped countless students become outstanding traders… and now it’s your turn.5) Earning Season Is Right Around the Corner, and You’ll More Opportunities Than you Can Believe. Now is the time to learn. So You Need the Edge NOW!Earning Season presents a huge opportunity for traders — and it kicks off on October 15 when the big banks start reporting. If you want to make money, you need a plan.You’ll learn how to trade in six different scenarios just in time to get in on the action.You can expect to generate about 10 actionable ideas every day during earnings season — Sami himself has sometimes found over 25 in a single day.4) You’ll Learn Exactly How a Stock’s Place in Its Market CycleThe perfect earnings trade does not happen in vacuum.You must understand where a stock is in its life cycle so you can be ready to strike at precisely the right moment.3) You Can Ask Sami All of Your QuestionsThis course is 100% interactive. You’ll learn Sami’s groundbreaking approach to predicting big post-earnings moves LIVE.That means you get all your questions answered.2) You Can Use These Strategies All Year LongIt’s true — most companies do report during the traditional earnings season.But there are companies reporting earnings almost every trading day. So you can actually use these strategies year-round!1) You Save $100 if You Get In Before the Clock runs Down!To reward customers that want to win this earnings season, we are offering a $100 instant rebate if you sign up before the clock counts down. 01 Days 05 Hours 22 Minutes 46 Seconds Click to Sign Up
Continue Reading -->Announcing the T3 Total Access iPhone App!
For years, people have been asking us “can I use the Virtual Trading Floor® on my iPhone?” Until now, the answer has been no. So we’re ecstatic to finally announce the T3 Total Access App for iPhone and iPad, which you can download from the App Store here. Go to the App Store ==> With T3 Total Access, you get live streaming video, audio, and chat directly to your Apple device. Whether you’re in a car, sitting in an airport, or just taking a walk, you can listen in and interact with our team. This way, you can keep up with the markets from anywhere in the world there’s an Internet connection — you are no longer tied down to your desktop computer or your office. Please note: Google Android device users can access the VTF® through the free Google Chrome app. To learn about our Virtual Trading Floor® rooms: Click for VTF info ==> Need help picking a room? Call our team at 1-888-998-3548 or click here to email us. Please note: standard data rates apply. Not all functions may be supported on all devices, particularly some Android smartphones and tablets.
Continue Reading -->The Ultimate Guide to Trading Earnings Season
Do you have an earnings season strategy? Because there’s more opportunity than any time of year. You’re about to find out why. In this super in-depth article, you’re going to understand just about everything there is to know about earning season. And if you’re ready to jump right into trading earnings now, check out Sami Abusaad’s Earnings Engine course. Here’s your table of contents: The Ultimate Guide to Trading Earnings Season Includes: What Is Earnings Season?When Is Earnings Season?Why You Should Care About Earnings SeasonHow to Find Out When a Company Reports EarningsAbout Earnings Report Releases and Conference CallsHow to Find Consensus Earnings and Sales EstimatesHow Earnings Reports Affect Stock PricesHow to Judge Earnings Season as a WholeHow To Trade EarningsA Preview of Sami Abusaad’s Earnings Engine CourseEarnings Play BasicsSami’s Earnings Play Checklist What Is Earnings Season?Before you can understand how to trade during earnings season, you need to understand what earnings season is. Earnings season is when the bulk of publicly-traded companies deliver their quarterly earnings reports. These reports contain a variety of financial information on the business’s performance in the previous quarter, typically including (but not limited to): Balance Sheet Income Statement Cash Flow StatementOther helpful facts and figures, like performance of certain business units and products.Stocks tend to have big movements upon the release of earnings reports because investors make new decisions about each company’s future.An earnings report can make you encouraged, discouraged, or even indifferent about a stock’s prospects. When Is Earnings Season?There is no official earnings season. Historically, traders considered aluminum company Alcoa’s (AA) quarterly reports to be the kickoff of each earnings season, since it was always the first company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to report. Now that Alcoa’s been removed from the Dow, the new ‘unofficial’ start to earnings season occurs 2-3 weeks after the end of each calendar quarter, when the big banks like JP Morgan (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) report earnings. Earnings season activity peaks about 2 weeks after that, when a cluster of tech companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC) report. At the peak, over 150 companies report earnings in a single day. Then, the frequency of earnings reports declines for another 4 weeks, upon which earnings season is more or less over. However, outside of the traditional earnings season, at least a few companies report almost every day. This is because some companies have different fiscal quarter and year-ends. For example, Nike (NKE) operates on a May fiscal year, so it does not deliver its quarterly reports during earnings season.Why You Should Care About Earnings SeasonEarning Season action is different than regular market action.Since there’s so much important news being released, stocks bounce around like crazy. And remember, a company’s earnings report can affect multiple stocks. For example, when Apple (AAPL) reports earnings, it has a huge impact on the entire tech sector, and especially its suppliers.How to Find Out When a Company Reports EarningsThe single best way to find out when a company reports earnings is to go to the investor relations section of its website.Companies typically issue press releases with the official earnings date and time.You can also find a company’s earnings date on hundreds of websites including Yahoo! Finance and Nasdaq.com.However, if a company has not yet announced an official earnings date, it will be estimated based on historical norms. These estimates are usually correct, but occasionally, they’ll be wrong.Speaking of historical norms, companies tend to be very consistent with their reporting schedules.For example, Netflix (NFLX) always reports after the market close about two-and-a-half weeks following the end of the calendar quarter. About Earnings Report Releases and Conference CallsEarnings reports are typically posted on a company’s website, and also distributed via press release. Management will then hold an earnings call about 30-60 minutes after the release. An earnings call typically starts with prepared comments from the company’s CEO or CFO, followed by a Q&A session with Wall Street analysts.They tend to last about an hour.You can listen to these calls live, or catch replays after. And several online publishers including Seeking Alpha actually provide transcripts of the calls.Keep in mind that some companies will announce guidance during a call, instead of in the actual earnings release. How to Find Consensus Earnings and Sales EstimatesEarnings don’t just exist in a vacuum.Wall Street analysts from firms like Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) will forecast a company’s performance based on in-depth research. Investors pay most attention to analysts’ forecasts of the following items: Earnings per share Sales Profit margins Unit salesThese forecasts are then averaged into “consensus estimates” by financial news/data organizations, the most prominent of which are Reuters and Bloomberg. The numbers sometimes differ slightly between them, but they’re generally very close. Like with earnings calendars, These consensus estimates are widely available online. Here’s a section from Reuters’ listing of estimates for Apple (AAPL):Reuters lists the sales and earnings per share estimates by quarter, along with how those estimates have been treding. Traders like to see how a company’s reported results compare with these consensus estimates. But beware — a company can beat earnings estimates and see its stock drop. For example, Marketwatch reported that Johnson & Johnson fell despite strong earnings and guidance: How Earnings Reports Affect Stock PricesThe impact of earnings on a stock price is not an exact science. Here is a small selection of the factors that can impact a stock’s reaction to earnings: Earnings per share (relative to expectations) Sales (relative to expectations) Profit margins (relative to expectations) Product unit sales (relative to expectations) The company’s future outlook (relative to expectations) Comments made by executives on the conference call How much the stock is up or down before earningsAs you just learned, it is not uncommon for a company to beat expectations and fall. And a company can report terrible earnings and see its stock rise? Why? It’s all about expectations (see how many times we used that word), which is related to how much a stock is up or down before earnings. For example, if a stock runs higher into earnings, it signals that expectations are very high. So a strong report may be priced in, reporting in
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