Earnings Analysis

Equity Research Earnings Update

Create professional EARNINGS UPDATE REPORTS analyzing quarterly results for companies already under coverage, following institutional standards (JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley format).

Key Characteristics:

• Length: 8-12 pages
• Word Count: 3,000-5,000 words
• Tables: 1-3 summary tables (NOT comprehensive)
• Figures: 8-12 charts
• Turnaround: 1-2 days (within 24-48 hours of earnings)
• Audience: Clients already familiar with the company
• Focus: What's NEW - beat/miss, updated estimates, thesis impact
• Font: Times New Roman throughout (unless user specifies otherwise)

When to Use

Use when the user requests:

• "Create an earnings update for [Company] Q3 2024"
• "Analyze [Company]'s quarterly results"
• "Post-earnings report for [Company]"
• "Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 update for [Company]"

Do NOT use if:

• User requests "initiation report" → Use different skill
• User requests "flash note" or "quick take" → Different format
• Company is not already covered → Need initiation first

Critical Requirements

1. Speed & Timeliness

• Publish within 24-48 hours of earnings release
• Focus on NEW information only
• Don't rehash company background extensively

2. Beat/Miss Analysis

• Lead with whether company beat or missed estimates
• Quantify variances (e.g., "Revenue beat by $120M or 3%")
• Explain WHY results differed from expectations

3. Summary Format

• Keep tables to 1-3 (summary only, not comprehensive)
• No full P&L/Cash Flow/Balance Sheet (just key metrics)
• Assume reader has seen initiation report

4. Citations & Source Attribution ⭐⭐⭐ MANDATORY

CRITICAL: Properly cite all data with SPECIFIC sources and CLICKABLE HYPERLINKS.

Include specific citations WITH CLICKABLE LINKS in every figure and table:

Source: Q3 2024 10-Q filed November 8, 2024; Company earnings release        [Hyperlink "10-Q" to: https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?accession=...]        [Hyperlink "earnings release" to: https://investor.company.com/news/q3-2024]

HOW HYPERLINKS SHOULD APPEAR IN WORD:

• Document names appear as blue, underlined clickable links
• Reader can Ctrl+Click to open source directly
• Not plain text URLs - formatted hyperlinks with display text

REQUIRED SOURCES LIST:

Cite in every earnings update:

• ✅ Earnings release (with date and URL)
• ✅ 10-Q filing (with filing date and EDGAR link)
• ✅ Earnings call transcript (with date)
• ✅ Investor presentation/supplemental materials (if available)
• ✅ Consensus estimates source (Bloomberg/FactSet/etc. with date)
• ✅ Prior guidance (from previous quarter's materials)

REFERENCE SECTION WITH CLICKABLE HYPERLINKS:

Include "Sources" section at end of report:

SOURCES & REFERENCES
Earnings Materials (Q3 2024):• Earnings Release (November 7, 2024)  [Hyperlink entire line to: https://investor.company.com/news/q3-2024-earnings]
• Form 10-Q (Filed November 8, 2024)  [Hyperlink to: https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?accession=...]
• Earnings Call Transcript (November 7, 2024)  [Hyperlink to: https://seekingalpha.com/article/...]
• Investor Presentation (November 7, 2024)  [Hyperlink to: https://investor.company.com/presentations/q3-2024.pdf]

VERIFICATION CHECKLIST:

• Every figure has source with specific document and date
• Every table has source with document reference
• Beat/miss analysis cites consensus source with date
• Guidance changes cite current and prior guidance sources
• Key statistics have footnotes
• Sources section lists all materials with URLs
• ALL URLs are CLICKABLE HYPERLINKS (not plain text)
• All SEC filings hyperlinked to EDGAR viewer

5. Updated Estimates

• Update forward estimates based on results
• Show old vs. new estimates clearly
• Explain what changed and why

High-Level Workflow

The earnings update process follows 5 phases:

Phase 1: Data Collection (30-60 minutes)

🚨🚨🚨 CRITICAL: TRAINING DATA IS OUTDATED 🚨🚨🚨

BEFORE STARTING - COMPLETE THESE 4 STEPS IN ORDER:

1. CHECK TODAY'S DATE - Write down the current date
2. SEARCH FOR LATEST - Use web search: "[Company] latest earnings results"
3. VERIFY THE DATE - Confirm earnings release is within last 3 months
4. CHECK TRANSCRIPT DATE - Verify transcript date matches release date

COMMON MISTAKE: Using outdated earnings calls from training data instead of searching for the latest.

REQUIREMENTS:

• ✅ Search for latest earnings - do NOT rely on training data
• ✅ Write down today's date and the release date found
• ✅ Verify release date is within 3 months of today
• ✅ Verify transcript date matches release date
• ✅ If dates don't match or are old (>3 months), search again

See references/workflow.md [blocked] for detailed search procedures and verification steps.

Phase 2: Analysis (2-3 hours)

• Beat/miss analysis for each key metric
• Segment/geographic/product breakdown
• Margin and guidance analysis
• Update financial model and estimates

See references/workflow.md [blocked] for detailed analysis framework.

Phase 3: Chart Generation (1-2 hours)

Create 8-12 charts focusing on quarterly trends and what's new:

• Quarterly revenue progression
• Quarterly EPS progression
• Quarterly margin trends
• Revenue by segment/geography
• Key operating metrics
• Beat/miss summary
• Estimate revisions
• Valuation charts

See references/workflow.md [blocked] for chart specifications.

Phase 4: Report Creation (2-3 hours)

Create 8-12 page DOCX report with specific structure.

See references/report-structure.md [blocked] for complete page-by-page templates and formatting requirements.

High-level structure:

• Page 1: Earnings summary with rating and price target
• Pages 2-3: Detailed results analysis
• Pages 4-5: Key metrics & guidance
• Pages 6-7: Updated investment thesis
• Pages 8-10: Valuation & estimates
• Pages 11-12: Appendix (optional)

Phase 5: Quality Check & Delivery (30 minutes)

Verify content, formatting, accuracy, and timeliness before delivery.

See references/best-practices.md [blocked] for quality checklist and common mistakes to avoid.

Output Specification

Primary Deliverable: DOCX report (8-12 pages) File Name: [Company]_Q[Quarter]_[Year]_Earnings_Update.docx Example: Nike_Q2_FY24_Earnings_Update.docx

Contents:

• Page 1: Summary with rating, price target, key takeaways
• Pages 2-3: Detailed results analysis
• Pages 4-5: Key metrics and guidance
• Pages 6-7: Updated thesis assessment
• Pages 8-10: Valuation and estimates
• Pages 11-12: Appendix (optional)
• 8-12 embedded charts
• 1-3 summary tables
• Complete sources section with clickable hyperlinks

Optional Deliverable: XLS model update (optional for earnings updates)

Key Differences from Initiation Report

Resources

references/workflow.md

Detailed Phase 1-5 instructions with step-by-step procedures for data collection, analysis, chart generation, and report creation.

references/report-structure.md

Complete page-by-page templates, table formats, and formatting requirements for the DOCX report.

references/best-practices.md

Examples of good/bad headlines, tips for success, common mistakes to avoid, and comprehensive quality checklist.

Dependencies

Required:

• Python (matplotlib, pandas, seaborn) for chart generation
• DOCX skill for report creation

Optional:

• XLS skill for model updates (not required for earnings updates)