Companies issue quarterly earnings reports as well as their annual reports, and reporters also write up these quarterly reports. The AP says that the most widely written business news story is the earnings report. And the most important part of the earnings story, says The Wall Street Journal, is "net income, because that gives us a consistent gauge from company to company and quarter to quarter."

Here is a quarterly report from McDonald's Corp. for the period July 1 to Sept. 31 of this year compared with the same period of the preceding year.

Here is a story based on these figures:

The McDonald's Corporation said yesterday that earnings rose 17 percent in the third quarter on continued robust sales from the company's expansion abroad.

The company earned $308.9 million, or 43 cents a share, up from $264.5 million, or 36 cents a share, in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Note: The word revenue sometimes is mistaken for the key figure. Revenue includes several cost items. Net income is what people want to know about—how much profit the company is making.

Checklist: Quarterly Earnings

Here is a checklist that the AP provides its reporters with for quarterly earnings stories:

• Percentage of increase or decrease in earnings for quarter.
• Reasons for increase or decrease.
• Net income for quarter and income per share, compared with net income and income per share for same quarter previous year.
• Brief description of company's business, products, etc.
• Total revenue for quarter and total revenue for quarter previous year.
• Net income for year to date, net income per share and total revenue for year to date compared with same figures for previous year.
• If quarterly dividend is increased or decreased, amount of the increase or decrease, when the new dividend will be paid and shareholders eligible.
• This checklist is also appropriate for stories based on annual reports.

Local Folos

If you work in Topeka or Birmingham, chances are you will not be handling the McDonald's quarterly report data. But what about checking the local McDonald's outlets? How did they fare in the same period?

When Annheuser-Busch reports a 2.2 percent gain in total sales, you might find that the local distributor contributed a significant increase—or decrease—to the total sales picture. This, in turn, could lead to another story about the changing habits of local beer and soft drink imbibers. Beer and soft drinks are among the most hotly contested retail commodities.

By following the annual and quarterly reports of the parent firms, the reporter can initiate local stories of considerable reader interest.

Business reporters also can check the reports of local companies in federal records for stories.