This one's got the lot

General Electic has announced its first quarter profits, and disappointed the market. The Wall Street Journal (as featured in The Australian) has the story. Some business analysis:

GE's results also shake another common Wall Street belief, that large multinational conglomerates have become safe stock market havens.
GE, which recorded more than half of its $US173 billion in 2007 sales outside the US, did post strong international results, but not enough to fully counter its problems at home.
"It's evidence that you can't offset declining US earnings by having operations in the rest of the world," said Sherry Cooper, global economic strategist at BMO Financial Group.

Some accounting analysis:

On the consumer-lending side, Mr Sherin said GE would likely increase loss provisions beyond the planned $US600 million for the year because of increased delinquencies.

Some discussion of the role of analysts:

One reason for Wall Street's surprise: GE usually works closely with analysts in giving guidance on where its earnings are likely to land. The company generally meets the consensus estimates of Wall Street analysts.
This time, the analysts were way off. Their consensus suggested GE would record earnings per share from continuing operations of US51c. Instead, the number was US44c, down 8 per cent from a year ago. Overall, GE earned $US4.3 billion ($4.6 billion), or US43c per share, in the first quarter, down from $US4.57 billion, or US44c per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

And another example of the impact of missing analysts' forecasts:

The disappointing results put new pressure on Mr Immelt to shake up the company he took over six years ago. GE's closing share price of $US32.05 on Friday is 19 per cent below its level when Mr Immelt became chairman and CEO just before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, although the share price is well above its 2002-03 lows.

Meeting analyst forecasts

Is still considered important. Here's a report about QBE who missed analyst forecast in their recent half yearly profit announcements. Share price dropped, as is usually the case.

Markets don't like negative surprises. Especially now.

Another entry for the don't surprise the market readings list. From today's Australian

ANY company delivering profits even slightly under expectations will face severe punishment by the market, analysts warn.

Reporting season moves into full swing today against a background of market volatility and uncertainty.

A stream of major results are scheduled over the coming days, including Leighton, Qantas and Wesfarmers.

"Given the skittishness of the markets, those that only just make earnings estimates consensus or slightly disappoint will probably be penalised and their share price will be sold down," Macquarie Private Wealth division director Martin Lakos said yesterday.

Managers claim that their share prices 'overreact' to missing an earnings target or forecast. Doug Skinner and Richard Sloan show that is especially so for small, growing firms (in a paper published in the Review of Accounting Studies in 2002, Earnings Surprises, Growth Expectations, and Stock Returns or Don't Let an Earnings Torpedo Sink Your Portfolio).