Earnings season is one of the most important regular events in financial markets. Among the notable companies reporting earnings today, March 19, 2026, is Darden Restaurants (DRI), which reported a 5.9% increase in total sales to $3.3 billion for its third quarter. Other firms providing updates or fiscal reports today include WELL Health Technologies, highlighting a positive outlook for the remainder of the 2026 fiscal year.
The fastest way to find which companies are reporting earnings today is to check Earnings Whispers (earningswhispers.com), Yahoo Finance’s Earnings Calendar, or the Wall Street Journal’s Earnings Calendar – all free and updated in real time.
The Best Free Earnings Calendars
|
Source |
URL |
Features |
|---|---|---|
|
Earnings Whispers |
earningswhispers.com |
Consensus estimates, whisper numbers, before/after market indicators |
|
Yahoo Finance |
finance.yahoo.com/calendar/earnings |
Well-organized, free, estimates shown |
|
Wall Street Journal |
wsj.com/market-data/earnings-calendar |
Clean interface, free |
|
MarketBeat |
marketbeat.com/earnings |
Surprise history, analyst ratings |
|
Investing.com |
investing.com/earnings-calendar |
Comprehensive, global coverage |
|
CNBC |
cnbc.com/earnings |
Updated with commentary |
Understanding an Earnings Report
When a company reports earnings, the key figures investors watch:
|
Metric |
What It Is |
Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
|
EPS (Earnings Per Share) |
Profit ÷ shares outstanding |
Primary “beat or miss” benchmark |
|
Revenue |
Total sales |
Growth indicator |
|
EPS Estimate |
Analyst consensus expectation |
“Beat” if above, “miss” if below |
|
Revenue Estimate |
Analyst consensus expectation |
Same framework |
|
Guidance |
Company’s own forecast for next quarter |
Often more important than past results |
|
Operating margins |
Profitability efficiency |
Trends matter as much as absolute level |
Before Market Open vs After Market Close
Most companies report earnings at one of two times:
Before Market Open (BMO):
- Report released around 6-8 AM ET before markets open
- Stock often gaps up or down at the 9:30 AM open
- Example companies: JPMorgan, Walmart, many banks
After Market Close (AMC):
- Report released around 4:15-5 PM ET after markets close
- Stock moves in after-hours trading immediately
- Example companies: Apple, Amazon, Netflix, many tech companies
Earnings calendars indicate which time slot each company has scheduled.
How to Interpret Earnings Results
The “beat vs miss” framework is widely used but oversimplified. A company can beat EPS estimates and still fall in price if:
- Revenue missed expectations (growing earnings through cuts, not revenue growth)
- Guidance was lowered (future expectations matter more than past results)
- The beat was widely anticipated and “priced in” already
- One-time items inflated the reported numbers
Conversely, a company can miss EPS and rise if:
- Revenue grew faster than expected
- Guidance was raised significantly
- Management explained the miss convincingly as one-time
The guidance is often more important than the actual reported quarter. Markets are forward-looking – what happened last quarter matters less than what’s expected next quarter and beyond.
The Earnings Calendar and Market Volatility
During peak earnings season (typically 2-3 weeks after each quarter ends – January, April, July, October), the market is more volatile than usual:
- Multiple major companies report the same day
- Sector-wide reactions can move ETFs significantly
- Macro data releases often coincide with earnings season
For individual investors, earnings season creates both risk and opportunity – stocks can move 5-20% on a single report, which can work dramatically in either direction.
Setting Up Earnings Alerts
Most brokerage apps allow you to set alerts for earnings reports on specific stocks in your watchlist:
- Schwab/TD Ameritrade: Earnings alert option in stock watchlists
- Robinhood: Earnings reminders for held stocks
- Fidelity: Earnings dates shown in stock detail pages
- Earnings Whispers app: Push notifications for specific stocks
This means you don’t need to check the calendar daily – you’ll be notified when your specific holdings are about to report.
Bottom Line
Finding which companies report earnings today takes less than 30 seconds on any major earnings calendar – Earnings Whispers and Yahoo Finance are the fastest free options. Understanding what to do with that information takes more nuance: beats and misses matter, but guidance matters more, and the market’s reaction is often counterintuitive in the short term. For long-term investors, earnings season is less about trading around reports and more about ensuring that the fundamental business performance of holdings continues to match expectations.