When the actual earnings are reported, they tend to be near these predictions.

A surprise is defined as actual earnings at least 10 percent above or below the estimate.

Their stock prices are high relative to their actual corporate earnings and other measures.

There is very little reliable information about actual earnings by consultants.

In 1973, the first year of his study, the average estimate was off by 31 percent from actual earnings.

It is not necessary to have had actual net earnings of at least $400 in a preceding year.

Church officials said those figures were higher than actual earnings.

He added that the rise also probably included some workers who had long been employed full-time, but have seen their actual earnings erode.

Stocks then are likely to fall on the forecast, but may rise if actual earnings are no worse than expected.

Academic studies have found that actual earnings do not fall randomly around the consensus estimate.