Companies report their earnings every three months, and are widely disseminated soon after their release. Investor's Business Daily publishes a comprehensive list of the prior day's earnings reports, separating those posting earnings gains from those reporting lower results. The number of companies in each of these categories helps you get an overall idea of the profitability of U.S. corporations. The earnings table shows the percentage above or below analysts' consensus estimates, and arrows indicate whether there's been acceleration (up) or deceleration (down) in earnings or sales growth compared to the prior quarter. Any increase of 25% or better is boldfaced in the "EPS % Chg" column. The company's entire line is boldfaced when the EPS growth is more than 25%, the EPS Rating is more than 85 and the earnings were better than expected.

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When it comes to analysts' estimates, you want to see forecasts that represent positive indications of growth. But remember, these are only estimates, and they are no substitute for a track record of past performance. Daily Graphs includes earnings estimates.

One other point: Investors should also be wary any time a company announces "record earnings." If you think about it, a company could be growing at just 2% or 3% and still have its best-ever quarter. You don't just want earnings to be better than the year before; you want to see remarkable gains.

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