For those of us who work in the financial industry, the beginning of earnings season is right up there with Fourth of July fireworks, a legendary Thanksgiving dinner, and waking up on a snowy Christmas morning. (Well, maybe not. But it’s close.)
Why is it such a big deal, you ask? Because positive earnings news can be like rocket fuel for a stock… and negative news can be like quicksand.
More than 40 companies in the S&P 500 report earnings next week, more than 100 do so the following week, and more than 150 the week after that. Needless to say, you’ll be reading and hearing the word “earnings” a lot in the financial media for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, I wanted to send around this episode of Chief Income Strategist Marc Lichtenfeld’s YouTube series, State of the Market, where he explains how to make sense of earnings estimates, beats, and misses, Wall Street’s “Buy,” “Hold,” and “Sell” ratings, and – most importantly – how to determine the best way to navigate earnings season based on your personal investing goals.
Click the image above to watch Marc’s guide for mastering earnings season (featuring a cameo from renowned financial expert Cosmo Kramer).