Glossary
What is Guidance?
Guidance is a company's own prediction of how it will do in the future.
The simple explanation
Along with the report card, many companies tell investors what sales and profit they expect next quarter or year. Guidance that is higher or lower than analysts expect can move a stock more than the results themselves.
An example
A company beats this quarter's numbers but says next quarter will be weak. The stock may fall anyway.
Why it matters
Markets look forward, so what a company says about the future often matters more than the past.
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Educational information, not financial advice.