http://www.sec.gov/answers/form10q.htm
A company may report their earnings at the same time they make their filings or a short while prior to filing. The best way to determine when a particular company files is to review company news and note the date they issue a press release announcing earnings. Company news can be tracked on Yahoo Finance or you can often access it at the company's corporate website under investors or investor relations link.
Another way is to look for 8-k filings at sec.gov. You can search for filings using the company name and the ticker symbol. An 8-k that was issued shortly before the 10q or 10k filing is likely to be a copy of any press release that was issued announcing earnings.
Companies do not all report earnings on the same day or in the same week. In a typical quarter:
week 1 - very little, perhaps a few stragglers
week 2 - Alcoa and a few banks
week 3 - Many banks plus a few industrial/tech firms
week 4-5 - Heaviest reporting
week 6 - Trailing off, mostly smaller companies as the large ones are usually done.
There are a few exceptions like retailers which often use a January fiscal year end rather than the more common December or June.
Look at the Yahoo Finance earnings calendar below to see companies expected to report today.
The 2nd link includes first pass analysis of most earnings announcements today.
A good research website will have a " market diary " page which will give upcoming information on results, payments and other economic and company news.
Quarterly earnings are announced every quarter - that means April, July, October and January.
I'm a newbie, just had a look at the stock market before deciding what to invest in and it seems as though a lot of prices have shot up. I'm assuming earning reports are out? Can someone tell me when approximately the reports are announced.
I can understand if Its different for different companies. But can someone please give me a rough idea as to when they're released - that's all I want.
