Street Smarts: Why You Should Wear Your Skeptic's Hat During Earnings Season

Earnings releases and calls are a necessary part of your stock homework. But watch the video above to understand why you need to read and listen with a healthy bit of skepticism.

Earnings season is a lot like picking your best selfie for social media.

At the end of every quarter, most companies give you a snapshot of how they did over the last 3 months - only they get to pick what numbers make it to the earnings release - much like you pick your perfect selfie.

So it's often the really "pretty" numbers make it to the earnings release because there are no real guidelines of what must be included.

In addition, those releases often are not audited. 

Still if you own the stock or are considering buying it - you should read the earnings release and then listen to the conference call or webinar. both are an important part of the homework you should be doing on your stock holdings.

But while you can learn a ton, you really need to be skeptical.  Watch the video above to find out why.

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