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 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 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 for chart specifications.

Phase 4: Report Creation (2-3 hours)

Create 8-12 page DOCX report with specific structure.

See references/report-structure.md 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 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)