ALMOST every results season, the markets go through an elaborate ritual, as stylised as Kabuki theatre. The profit forecasts made by analysts, highly optimistic in advance, are reduced. Companies then beat those forecasts by a small margin. Analysts then declare the result season a "success" even though the reported profits are lower than the forecasts they made 6 or 12 months earlier.
This happens at the aggregate level but reflects another pattern at the level of the individual company....
How companies massage their profits to beat market forecasts - The Economist (blog)
This happens at the aggregate level but reflects another pattern at the level of the individual company....
How companies massage their profits to beat market forecasts - The Economist (blog)