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:

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

Aspect	Earnings Update	Initiation Report
Length	8-12 pages	30-50 pages
Words	3,000-5,000	10,000-15,000
Tables	1-3 summary	12-20 comprehensive
Figures	8-12	25-35
Turnaround	1-2 days	3-6 weeks
Scope	Quarterly results	Complete company
Focus	What's NEW	Everything
Company Background	Brief mention	6-10 pages
XLS Model	Optional	Required

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)

earnings-analysis