How to read an earnings report.

1. Guidance, first. What the company says about the next quarter or year frequently matters more than the one just reported. Markets pay for the future; the past is already in the price. A strong quarter with weak guidance is a common recipe for a falling share price.
2. Revenue growth, and its direction. Not just the number — is growth accelerating or slowing? A company growing 30% after growing 40% is decelerating, and that often matters more than the 30%.
3. Margins. Is the company keeping more or less of each pound of revenue? Margin direction is an early tell on pricing power and competitive pressure, usually well before it shows up in the narrative.
4. The cash. Did the profit turn into actual cash? Persistent gaps between reported earnings and cash generation deserve a hard look.
5. What management didn't say. A segment that was proudly broken out last quarter and quietly folded into "other" this quarter is telling you something.

Why the stock often does the opposite of what you'd expect

Because expectations were already in the price. A company can beat the estimate and still fall, because the "whisper number" — what the market genuinely expected, as opposed to the published consensus — was higher. Or because guidance disappointed. Or because the stock had already risen 25% into the event, setting a bar that a merely good result couldn't clear.

This confuses people enormously, and it is the single most useful thing to internalise about earnings. It has its own page, because it matters that much.