Dale Gillham: The investor’s guide to beating the reporting season noise

Reporting season is where the fairy tales get tested. All the hype and promises, as well as the glossy investor presentations, February is when the numbers hit the table, and the market delivers its verdict.

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So, the real question is this: do you want to be the investor reacting to headlines, or the one positioned before the market moves? This is the moment where everyday investors either get trapped by noise or get paid for preparation.

The reality is that most people treat reporting season like a headline sport. They scan the profit numbers, read a media summary, then rush to buy or panic sell. But what if that’s exactly why most investors underperform during reporting season? That approach turns portfolios into guessing games, but a smarter approach turns reporting season into opportunities.

Here are my three key tips for navigating reporting season properly.

Start with the previous report, not the latest headline

Companies constantly leave breadcrumbs: forward guidance, margin warnings, expansion plans, and cost pressures. Management tells you where the risks and growth are building long before the market reacts. Quarterly updates often reveal trend direction even earlier. If reading full reports feels heavy, run them through an AI summary tool to extract key risks, forecasts, and balance sheet changes in minutes. This alone puts you ahead of most retail investors. Markets often overreact when reality slightly misses perfection.

Read the whole story, not the loudest line

Investors regularly fixate on one “bad” number and ignore three powerful positives sitting right next to it. Revenue growth, improving margins, falling debt, and rising forward orders matter more than a single cost spike or a short-term earnings wobble. Strong businesses are often sold down on emotion, only to recover once cooler heads review the full report. Overreactions create entry prices that don’t stay cheap for long.

Timing decides whether a good idea becomes a good trade

A strong report does not automatically mean a good buy price. Shares often spike straight into technical resistance, where early buyers take profits, and late chasers get trapped. Price charts show where supply and demand actually sit. They reveal trend strength, exhaustion and breakout levels. Buying without checking the chart is like driving without depth perception. Reports describe the past, while charts reveal behaviour in the present. Entries made with timing discipline outperform entries made with excitement.

Reporting season rewards patience, context and timing, whilst preparation beats prediction every time. For now, good luck and good trading.

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Dale Gillham is Chief Analyst at Wealth Within and an international bestselling author of How to Beat the Managed Funds by 20%. He is also the author of Accelerate Your Wealth—It’s Your Money, Your Choice, which is available in bookstores and online at www.wealthwithin.com.au.

Disclaimer: While Wealth Within holds an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL:226347), the information featured in this program is general in nature and therefore should not be relied upon.Before making any investment decisions, you should consult a licensed professional who can advise whether your investment decisions are appropriate for you.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.