Earnings reports can move a stock price, up or down, sometimes by a lot. A lot of that movement has to do with how much the estimated earnings and revenues deviated from reported earnings and revenues. So, if you're considering buying or selling a stock, it may be a good idea to find out when the company plans to announce earnings.

The easiest way is to select the Charts & Tools tab. You'll find the Earnings Calendar under Summary Pages. Click on Visit Earnings Calendar.

You can find earnings info for a specific company or see a list of all companies announcing earnings in a specific quarter. To find earnings for a specific company, enter the stock symbol in the search box on the far right.

When viewing the earnings calendar, you have two options—Reported Earnings or Upcoming Earnings.

From the dropdown menu, select Two Days, One Week, One Month, or All. These are earnings for the most recent or current quarter. The data is arranged in a table format.

Reported Earnings displays the stock symbol, company name, earnings date, revenue, estimated revenue, earnings, estimated earnings, earnings-per-share (EPS), estimated EPS, difference, and percentage difference (see below).

• To the left of each symbol are three vertical dots. Click on those dots to access StockCharts charting tools—Symbol Summary, SharpChart, ACP Chart, GalleryView, Point & Figure, or Seasonality.
• On the extreme right, are two icons—plus sign and bell. Click on the plus sign to add the symbol to your ChartList. Click on the bell icon to create an alert.

The display is similar to what you see in Reported Earnings (see below). Given the company hasn't announced earnings yet, the data shows the reporting date and time.

Quarterly earnings reports can affect a company's stock price movement, sometimes in unexpected ways. If a large-cap company is reporting earnings and that company makes up a significant portion of an index, there's a chance the index will move in tandem with the stock price movement. For these reasons, traders and investors watch earnings reports.

As an investor, your goal is to make a positive return on your investment, If you focus on two main numbers—earnings and revenues—you're well positioned to make sense of company earnings. So, before a company announces earnings, it's a good idea to know what the analyst estimates are for revenue and earnings per share (EPS). After the company reports, compare the reported EPS and revenues with the estimates.

What happens to the stock price after earnings are reported is anyone's guess. Generally, if a company beats estimates, it's considered positive news and, as a result, the stock price rises. But with the stock markets, nothing ever goes in the direction you expect. Sometimes, the stock price moves in a direction you wouldn't expect. Other factors come into play such as guidance. A company may have strong earnings but the future may look bleak or maybe the company chose not to provide guidance. In such cases, the stock price could fall, sometimes significantly.

Because of the volatility that surrounds earnings, some investors prefer to wait till after earnings before investing in a stock. With the earnings calendar, you can see when a company is expected to announce earnings. As a result, you can strategize your trading accordingly.