earnings

Big Lots (BIG) reports on Monday, March 1, and there is a very good likelihood the stock will rise on the earnings news. This is an options trade recommendation to profit from the expected move in the stock.

Famed market commentator and CEO of SharkInvesting.com James 'Rev Shark' DePorre, provides weekly insight on where he thinks the markets are going and how to navigate through the financial seas. In this episode, Rev Shark talks about the willingness of investor's to "sell the news" this earnings season. Listen in as Rev provides his exclusive insights, empowering the individual investor.

Electronic Arts has once again disappointed investors. EA downgraded profit expectations from 79 cents to a range of 40 to 55 cents per share. Electronic Arts had more excuses for why the company’s revenue was lagging. Electronic Arts blamed the poor economy, overseas weakness and consumers changing buying habits

Famed market commentator and CEO of SharkInvesting.com James 'Rev Shark' DePorre, provides weekly insight on where he thinks the markets are going and how to navigate through the financial seas. In this episode, Rev Shark talks about the importance of Intel's (NYSE: INTC) #'s and the market psychology around this earning's season.

Much to my satisfaction the polls seemed to work without a hitch. Thanks to those of you who participated.

My thoughts on the outcome?

Well, I'm pleased to state that the majority of us grasp the basics of reading a volatility chart. Let's delve into the answers and see if I can shed some insight on the rationale behind each answer, starting with question #1.

Today’s surge in the equity futures markets helped stocks recover close to 50% of their recent decline. This move represents optimism about corporate earnings. Traders should watch equity markets carefully after the huge run-up today. The lack of follow-through to the upside could be a sign of weakness, giving traders an excuse to get short again.

While S&P 500 companies are having no trouble reporting positive earnings surprises, performance on the revenue metric is a different story. Read more on S&P 500 stocks and earnings.

Early session weakness triggered by follow-through selling from yesterday and today’s worse than expected initial claims report failed to keep equity prices down. Traders bought up shares early in the trading session as better than expected earnings reports from Traveler’s and McDonald’s increased trader demand for risky assets.

After the bell, Amazon reported a third quarter EPS of $.45. Given that analysts' estimates for EPS was around $.30, it's fair to say AMZN knocked the cover off the ball. Following the announcement traders immediately began aggressively bidding up shares in the after-hours trading session.

So I must have missed last night's earnings announcement on Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Since it usually has a big volatility lift into earnings I typically throw it on my radar each earnings season. Perhaps I subconsciously decided to avoid all things ISRG after the shlacking I took during its last earnings announcement.

In preparation for Apple Inc. earnings set to be released tonight, let's take an in depth look at its volatility characteristics.

U.S. equity markets finished higher after bullish earnings reports from Intel and J.P. Morgan fueled investor confidence about a global economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrials crossed 10,000 in the process for the first time since October 7, 2008.

In light of Intel's after hours surge and subsequent gap and crap, let's deconstruct its 3Q earnings saga. After viewing things from a price perspective, we'll take a look at the volatility environment.

1. The Surge: After beating the numbers, INTC saw a strong upward surge in its stock price- reaching an after hours high of $21.90 or up 6.8% from its close.

U.S. equity markets managed to close higher after a tentative trading session. At times traders seemed nervous committing to the long side ahead of the start of earnings season. At the close the December E-mini S&P 500 finished better than 50% of its current 1075.75 to 1015.00 range. After the close, Alcoa reported better than expected earnings.

First Chester County Corporation announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. Net income totaled $2.2 million, a respectable increase of 22% compared to $1.8 million in the second quarter of 2008. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.36, a slight rise from the $0.35 per diluted share reported for the second quarter of 2008.