# Earnings Analysis > Create professional equity research earnings update reports (8-12 pages, 3,000-5,000 words) analyzing quarterly results for companies already under coverage. Fast-turnaround format focusing on beat/miss analysis, key metrics, updated estimates, and revised thesis. Includes 1-3 summary tables and 8-12 charts. Use when user requests "earnings update", "quarterly update", "earnings analysis", "Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 results", or post-earnings report. - Skill: `zai-org/earnings-analysis` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add zai-org/earnings-analysis` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/zai-org/earnings-analysis/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: zai-org (https://skillmd.com/u/zai-org) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/zai-org/earnings-analysis --- # 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 ### 0. Data Integrity — Never Fabricate **This is the highest-priority requirement in this skill. It overrides the desire for a complete-looking report. A blank cell is always better than an invented number.** Every number, date, and factual claim in the report carries exactly **one** provenance tag, rendered as a **visual chip** so the reader can see which class it belongs to: - **`[披露]`** — a primary record: the company disclosed it (earnings release, 10-Q/6-K, transcript, investor deck) or an exchange/regulator recorded it. The default and most trusted class. - **`[测算]`** — a value YOU computed or assumed (margin = EBITA/revenue, price target, forward estimates, like-for-like growth). Must be derivable from `[披露]` inputs, and the derivation must be stated or reproducible. - **`[预期]`** — a third-party estimate, **with a named provider**, and the provider must be a **data vendor's aggregated consensus**. The wired route is 同花顺 一致预期 via `hexin-stock.get_stock_financials` (预测每股收益平均值, 目标价(综合值), 评级机构家数 — ask with the forecast year inline); LSEG / Visible Alpha only where 同花顺 does not cover it. An unattributed consensus number does not exist. Note that 目标价(综合值) is an **aggregate** and is citable; a named peer 券商's own target price is not — this is sell-side research, so engage with a competitor's reasoning and redo the arithmetic yourself as `[测算]`. - **`[推断]`** — our analytical inference with no corresponding record: an attribution hypothesis ("the beat came mostly from pricing"), a read-across to peers, a likely cause. - **`[媒体]`** — reported by media and NOT corroborated by a disclosed record. Stays `[媒体]` until a record confirms it, at which point it becomes `[披露]` and cites that record. When two tags could apply, take the weaker one: a `[披露]` figure you then adjusted is `[测算]`. **When the request asks "how much of it", build the bridge** — see the decomposition rule below. 「毛利率变化里多少来自原材料 价格、多少来自自身降本」 is arithmetic, not a characterisation: open → signed steps → close, with a named `其他/未拆分` residual, every step `[测算]` with its basis. Where the split cannot close (segment volumes or unit costs not disclosed at the granularity asked for), name the missing input, then give the qualitative read tagged `[推断]` so the reader can see they got a view rather than the numbers. Answering an unhedged 「价格联动与降本消化了大部分增量」 to a "how much" question is the failure this rule exists to prevent. **`[测算]`, `[推断]`, and `[媒体]` are never optional in any format** — nothing lets a reader tell our arithmetic from a disclosure, our judgement from a finding, or an unconfirmed report from a record. An earnings update puts all these classes side by side in every beat/miss table, so chip every number in tables, variance columns, valuation summaries, and KPI strips. **`[n]` does not carry the class, and in an earnings update `[披露]` is not optional either.** A citation says which document a figure came from; it cannot say whether the figure was printed there or computed by us off it. The exemption for uniformly-sourced flowing prose (a sector primer, a market landscape) does **not** reach this deliverable: a 业绩点评 is wall-to-wall mixed classes, and the moment a `[n]` stands in for a chip the reader loses the one distinction the tags exist for. Measured on two 业绩点评 of near-identical length: 134 tags against 64, and the thinner one had swapped `[n]` for `[披露]` through its 摘要 and 分部 sections and left **all thirteen** of its 环比 figures — every one computed off the prior quarter — reading as disclosures. **The coverage floor, which is where this actually goes wrong:** - **Every 同比 / 环比 / 占比 / pct figure carries a class.** A move you computed off a prior period is `[测算]`; one the issuer printed in the release is `[披露]`. Untagged they are the same figure to the reader. `report-render`'s `verify.py` reports untagged derivations on the built file, and `build()` refuses a table whose 同比/环比 column has no chip in its header or any cell under it. - **One chip per run, not per figure.** 「同比 +102.7%、环比 +76.6%[测算]」 is the correct shape for a run of one class; splitting at a class boundary — 「毛利率 23.15%[披露]，环比 −1.67pct[测算]」 — is the correct shape where it crosses. Chipping each figure separately is noise, and so is a note under the table explaining the 口径 in prose: the reader cannot map a sentence onto cells. - **Route every chip through `rep.chip(标签)` / `rep.tagged(值, 标签)`.** Do not define your own helper, copy the hex values, or hand-write the `` markup: colour, size and the legal tag set live in `theme.CHIP`, and a local copy is how one batch shipped three different renderings of the same five tags. **Hard rules — violating any of these is a serious failure:** 1. **Never invent a consensus number.** If you only have consensus for total revenue and EPS (the usual case), then the beat/miss table shows consensus for ONLY those rows. **Leave segment-level consensus cells blank** — do NOT back-fill them with your own estimate dressed up as "consensus." Then say which line items consensus was retrievable for in the coverage block (Requirement 7); a blank cell without that statement reads as an oversight rather than a finding. 2. **Never present an `[测算]` value as `[披露]` or `[预期]`.** A forward estimate, a margin you divided out, a "prior estimate" you never actually published — all are `[测算]` and must be labeled so, or omitted. 3. **No fake "old vs new estimate" columns.** Only show an estimate-revision table if you genuinely have a prior estimate on record. Otherwise show disclosed historical actuals only, and say so. 4. **Reconcile before you write.** Cross-check that prior-year × (1+YoY) ≈ current value; if segment pieces don't tie to the total, find the real disclosed figure rather than plugging a gap. 5. **Two conflicting disclosed figures → show both with their basis.** (E.g. CMR "+1% reported / +8% ex-subsidy" — report both, don't cherry-pick the flattering one.) When a reader cannot tell whether a number is fact, your estimate, the Street's, your inference, or an unconfirmed press report, the report has failed regardless of how polished it looks. ### 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. Use **numbered inline citations** `[n]` in body text, figure captions, and table notes, mapped to a numbered `## 来源` section at the end. Where the output format supports links (PDF, HTML), make `[n]` a clickable internal link that jumps to the matching entry, and make each entry's title + URL a clickable external link. Pair citations with the provenance chips from Requirement 0 so each number shows BOTH its class and its source — a chip without an `[n]` asserts that a record exists without saying which one. **Marker rules:** - `[n]` ascends on first use and is reused for repeat citations of the same source. - **The count of distinct `[n]` markers must equal the number of Sources entries.** A marker with no entry, or an entry no marker points to, is a defect. - A generic attribution blob ("Source: company filings, Street estimates") is not a citation: it names no document, no date, and no mapping from claim to source. **Include specific citations in every figure and table:** ``` Source: Q3 FY24 10-Q filed 2024-11-08 [1]; company earnings release [2]. ``` **HOW CLICKABLE LINKS WORK (per format):** - *PDF (reportlab)*: inline `[n]` → internal links (`[n]`) jumping to the entries; entries → external links (``), whole title line clickable for a larger hit area. **Verify by counting `/Link` annotations in the built file** (external `URI` + internal `GoTo`) and confirming the internal jumps resolve. `report-render` automates this count. - *HTML/Markdown*: `` anchors and `` external links. - In every case: plain-text URLs that are not real links do NOT count as done. **REQUIRED SOURCES LIST:** Cite in every earnings update: - ✅ Earnings release (with date and URL) - ✅ 10-Q / 10-K / 6-K filing (with filing date and EDGAR link) - ✅ Earnings call transcript (with date) - ✅ Investor presentation/supplemental materials (if available) - ✅ Consensus estimates source (同花顺 一致预期 via `hexin-stock.get_stock_financials`, or LSEG etc. where it does not cover — with retrieval date) — only for metrics you actually have consensus on (see Requirement 0) - ✅ Prior guidance (from previous quarter's materials) **THE SOURCES SECTION:** Heading is exactly `## 来源`. One entry per marker, one shape: ``` [n] 〔一手|二手〕发布主体 · 文档或系统名 · 日期(发布日; 检索于) · URL ``` - **`〔一手|二手〕` is mandatory, not implied.** Primary is the issuing document itself: the earnings release, the periodic filing, the transcript, the investor deck, the regulator's decision, or a database field sourced from those. Everything else is Secondary. - **A Secondary entry must name what it relays** — `〔Secondary〕 · relaying · …`. Writing "Secondary" without naming the relay chain hides the chain it was supposed to expose. If a figure resolves only to a news article quoting a report, that is Secondary, and say in the coverage block that the underlying report was not obtained. - An estimates aggregator is **Primary for the consensus figure it publishes**, and Secondary if you took that consensus from an article quoting it. - **Both dates when both exist.** Publication date establishes vintage, retrieval date establishes what we could see. For a live database query publication may be absent — then `retrieved ` alone. Where a figure depends on time of day (a pre-earnings consensus snapshot, the session's move), carry time and session. - In a paginated report, `## 来源` **starts on its own page** and is the only hard page break besides the one after the cover. Placeholder shape — substitute the real documents, never ship the placeholders: ``` ## 来源 [1] 〔Primary〕 · Q FY earnings release · (published; retrieved ) · https://… [2] 〔Primary〕 SEC EDGAR · Form 10-Q, Q FY · (filed; retrieved ) · https://www.sec.gov/… [3] 〔Primary〕 · Q FY earnings call transcript · (published; retrieved ) · https://… [4] 〔Primary〕 · consensus for revenue and EPS, pre-earnings close · (retrieved) · https://… ``` **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 its retrieval date - [ ] Guidance changes cite current and prior guidance sources - [ ] Key statistics have footnotes - [ ] `## 来源` lists every material, each with `〔一手|二手〕`, dates, and URL - [ ] Distinct `[n]` marker count equals the entry count - [ ] 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 — **but only if a genuine prior estimate exists** (see Requirement 0). If there is no prior estimate on record, do not manufacture an "old" column; instead present disclosed historical actuals and your new estimates, each tagged `[披露]` / `[测算]`. - Explain what changed and why ### 6. Output Format & Format-Agnostic Quality Bar **The deliverable format follows the user's request — if they asked for PDF, produce PDF.** If unspecified, the house formatting policy decides: an 8-12 page earnings update is long-form, so deliver a PDF, and **state that choice in one clause** when you make it. The `report-render` skill builds the PDF (reportlab + matplotlib) and automates the layout and `/Link` checks below. 用户要 Word 时同样走 `report-render`（`DocxReport`，与 `Report` 同一套调用）——**要出 Word 就先载入 `report-render` 技能，再动手建**；手搓 python-docx / docx-js 会丢掉标签配色、`[n]` 跳转与封面页，机制与实测记录在那个技能里，不在这里重述。 **Whatever the format, these quality conditions are NON-NEGOTIABLE.** They are format-agnostic — the technique differs per format, but the outcome must hold in all of them: **A. Charts and their source notes must never overlap.** Each chart needs a "Figure X — title" caption above and a `Source:` line below, and the source line must sit clear of the plot, axis labels, and data labels. - *In matplotlib/PDF*: render the source as a figure-level footnote (`fig.text()` in figure coordinates) with reserved bottom margin (`subplots_adjust(bottom=...)`), NOT `ax.text()` at hand-tuned data coordinates — the latter collides with x-axis labels when the data range shifts. - *In HTML/PPTX*: put the caption and source as separate text elements above/below the image, not overlaid on it. - State a figure's or table's source **exactly once, in its note line** — never also inside the figure canvas and never also as a row of the table. For a chart built through `report-render`, that means `rep.figure(..., note=...)` and **not** `charts.source()`. **B. Chinese / CJK text must actually render — never blank, and must wrap correctly.** Embed a real TTF (Regular AND Bold; built-in CID fonts such as `STSong-Light` render blank in viewers without Adobe CJK packs), and set `wordWrap='CJK'` on every paragraph style that can hold Chinese, or lines wrap early and stop short of the right margin. These are silent failures — nothing raises. **The full catalogue (font-family mapping, variable fonts, matplotlib tofu, table cells that ignore `wordWrap`) is in `report-render`'s `references/pitfalls.md`; read it before hand-rolling a builder.** **C. Links must be genuinely clickable (where the format supports links).** Inline `[n]` markers jump to the Sources entries; entries open the source. In PDF these are real `/Link` annotations — **count them in the built file** — in HTML real `` tags. Never plain blue text. **D. No overflow, orphan, or half-empty pages/slides.** After building, render every page/slide and check: no element overlapping another, no source/caption clipped, no page left mostly empty because one block got stranded. - **Bind every figure/table to its caption** (reportlab: one `KeepTogether([caption, image, note])`), or the caption strands at a page bottom while the image flows to the next page. - **Let content flow; do NOT force breaks.** A `PageBreak()` before every heading is the #1 cause of half-empty pages. The only legitimate hard breaks are after the cover and before `## 来源`. - **If a figure "almost fits," shrink it so it fits** (e.g. 174mm → ~138mm) rather than stranding a half-empty page. Cap figure height at roughly one third of the text column. - Fix remaining gaps by reordering, merging orphans, or resizing — then re-render and re-check. (A modest gap is fine on the cover and on the standalone Sources page; mid-document content pages should be full.) **The self-check is mandatory regardless of format: build it, render/open it, look at every page.** ### 7. Coverage and Limitations Every earnings update closes with a coverage block, headed exactly `## 覆盖范围与局限`. **It is not optional and not abbreviated when everything succeeded** — a reader cannot otherwise distinguish "we checked seven things and found nothing" from "we checked four and three never ran." Each check reports exactly one of three states: | State | Means | |---|---| | `有记录` | Obtained. Cite it with `[n]`. | | `检索范围内未发现` | The source was queried successfully and returned nothing (e.g. no transcript published yet). | | `源不可用` | The source could not be queried this run — down, unauthorised, timed out, out of quota, or not covered for this name. | `检索范围内未发现` is a statement about our search, not about the world: never render it as "the company did not disclose it." `源不可用` is a finding, not a gap to paper over. For an earnings update the block covers, at minimum: - Which filings, transcripts, releases, and supplemental materials were obtained, and which were not yet available at the time of writing. - Whether consensus was retrievable, **from which provider, and for which line items** — this is where the blank segment-consensus cells from Requirement 0 get their explanation ("consensus retrievable for total revenue and EPS only; no segment-level consensus available from "). - Whether a prior published estimate exists (if not, say so — it is why there is no old-vs-new column). - The retrieval timestamp, and the as-of time of the consensus snapshot. ``` ## 覆盖范围与局限 Retrieved: · Scope: Q FY results for () | 检查项 | 结论 | 源 | 检索于 | |---|---|---|---| | Earnings release | 有记录 [1] | | | | Form 10-Q | 检索范围内未发现 (not yet filed) | SEC EDGAR | | | Consensus, revenue + EPS | 有记录 [4] | | | | Consensus, segment level | 源不可用 | (not covered) | | 本次未能覆盖: ``` ## 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:** 1. **CHECK TODAY'S DATE** - Write down the current date 2. **GO TO THE STRUCTURED SOURCE FIRST, NOT WEB SEARCH** - the disclosure record, in this order: - A shares: `wind-docs.get_company_announcements` (业绩预告/快报/定期报告;无日期参数,窗口写进 query 后自筛) and `hexin-stock.get_stock_financials` for the reported lines - HK/US: `hexin-global-stock.global_stock_financial`; where the **form type or filing date** matters, `sec-search.sec_full_text_search` with `form_types` and a date window - `finance-search.finance_search` sits **between the MCP tools and general web search** — 先走 `finance-search.finance_search`(金融垂搜,按档位召回并标注来源等级),它没有命中再落通用搜索。**媒体档默认带日期窗口**;官方档(weight>=3)反过来 —— 日期窗口会丢掉 publish_time 为空的记录(该档多数如此),取原始文件时不带窗口。 General web search remains the **last fallback for what none of these carry** (a transcript, a call replay, a management quote) — not the entry point. Pulling an earnings number off the web when a tool answers is how an undated figure enters the note. 3. **VERIFY THE DATE** - Confirm the release is within the last 3 months, from the source's own date field 4. **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](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](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](references/workflow.md)** for chart specifications. ### Phase 4: Report Creation (2-3 hours) Create the 8-12 page report with the structure below. **See [references/report-structure.md](references/report-structure.md)** for complete page-by-page templates and formatting requirements. **High-level structure:** - Page 1: Earnings summary with draft rating and price target (草稿,待分析师确认) - 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) - Closing: `## 覆盖范围与局限`, then `## 来源` on its own page ### Phase 5: Quality Check & Delivery (30 minutes) Verify content, formatting, accuracy, and timeliness before delivery. **See [references/best-practices.md](references/best-practices.md)** for quality checklist and common mistakes to avoid. ## Output Specification **Primary Deliverable**: an 8-12 page earnings update in **the format the user requested**. If the user didn't specify, deliver PDF (long-form, per the house formatting policy) and say so in one clause; `report-render` builds it with reportlab + matplotlib. **File Name**: `[Company]_Q[Quarter]_[Year]_Earnings_Update.[ext]` **Example**: `Nike_Q2_FY24_Earnings_Update.pdf` **Regardless of format**, satisfy the format-agnostic quality bar in Requirement 6 (charts/source not overlapping, CJK visible, links clickable, no orphan/overflow pages), the data-integrity rules in Requirement 0, and the coverage block in Requirement 7. **Contents:** - Page 1: Summary with draft rating, draft price target (草稿,待分析师确认; stance `[推断]`, target arithmetic `[测算]`) and 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) - `## 覆盖范围与局限` - `## 来源` — on its own page, every entry `〔一手|二手〕`, dated, and clickable - 8-12 embedded charts - 1-3 summary tables **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 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` for charts - The `report-render` skill for PDF output — it builds the document and runs the render-and-inspect self-check, including the `/Link` annotation count. Its `references/pitfalls.md` is the canonical list of silent font, wrapping, figure, and pagination failures; read it before hand-rolling a builder. - For Chinese output: a CJK font that actually renders — an embedded TTF (e.g. Noto Sans SC), Regular and Bold, with `fontTools` if static weights must be instantiated from a variable font **Optional:** - `pptx-author` — when the user wants slides - XLS skill for model updates (not required for earnings updates)