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)