Consensus Earnings (Analyst Estimates)

Consensus Earnings (Analyst Estimates) is the average prediction of what a company will earn per share over a specific period, compiled from forecasts made by professional stock analysts. You'll see this number on most financial websites and earnings reports—it's basically Wall Street's collective best guess about a company's profitability. It matters because if a company beats consensus (earns more than expected), the stock often jumps; if it misses, the stock typically falls, regardless of whether the actual earnings were good in absolute terms. For example, if 20 analysts predict TechCorp will earn $2 per share next quarter and the consensus is $2.00, but TechCorp actually earns $2.10, that's a positive surprise.