Earnings Season

Sounds weird, isn't it? This definitely doesn't mean that I earn during some seasons while not in others :) The phrase makes it seem like it is something to look forward to but it is quite the opposite. I and others like me dread the earnings season.

At the end of every quarter, most companies release their earnings for the quarter. Basically, they state the activities of the company during the quarter and the profit or loss they made. Now, you must be wondering what does that have to do with me. I would say a lot!

I work in the Equity Research division of one of the biggest financial institutions in the world. My work involves analysing the financials of some companies and giving an opinion on whether the clients should buy or sell the stock. We have our estimates for the quarterly earnings of the companies and as soon as the companies announce their earnings my work begins. We are supposed to prepare a report stating where and how the company's actual earnings differed with respect to our estimates and what are our new estimates going forward.

Every firm tries to come out with their report as fast as possible so that they are the first to tell their clients how the company fared. It's a mad rush! Most of the companies report their earnings way before the markets open at 9:30 which means you have to be in office before 7. Some companies choose to report it at close of market at 4 in the evening which means sitting in the office till almost midnight. A lot of times what happens is that there are multiple companies within your coverage reporting on the same day. When this happens it makes your life miserable. I remember last quarter when we had 6 companies reporting the same day! We were 3 associates in the team and each handled 2 companies which was still bad. That week I had spent 70 hours working in office! That's the total, the range being 10 to 18!

This Thursday was one of those days when 2 companies reported, one in the morning while the other in the evening. I knew I had to reach office by 6:30 so that I am not late for the release. I could hardly sleep at night trying to make sure that I get up on time. I reached office at 6:30 and found that the company had just released their earnings report. At 4 in the evening the other company also reported. This was a conglomerate with many divisions making life really difficult for anyone trying to analyse the company.

At 9, my boss came up to me and said that he was going home and expected me to complete the rest of the report so that when he comes at 6:30 the next day, it is ready for edits. Before you jump guns, I must say that he had had a rough week with the previous 2 days also being earnings days for him. He also asked me to be in office at 6:30 the next day so that I can submit the report for publication once he is through all the edits. It was a Hobson's Choice really and I agreed! I worked till midnight at which time I felt the report was ready for my boss and took a cab home. I slept at 1 and was up once again at 5 to be in office by 6:30. Thankfully we didn't have any company reporting on Friday and I had an easy day. I left office at 4 in the evening to meet a friend and watch a movie...