What the Market Orders Share Your Views.
Predictability is one of the things investors and analysts, and consequently CEOs, want most.
The expectations for consistently increasing quarterly earnings are greater than ever. In fact, meeting analysts' expectations has become so important that missing a quarter, even by a mere penny, can send the stock plummeting. Most companies do a fairly good job of hitting their targets. Although the term has negative connotations, even the most respected companies have caught on to the fact that accounting and business decisions can be timed in a way that will smooth or even temporarily boost quarterly earnings. Companies can build up reserves for bad debt and product obsolescence to higher than normal levels.