Do you earn money when a company reports its earnings?

Question

Do you earn any money when a company announces positive earnings every quarters?

Answer 1

If the stock goes up you earn appreciation.  So you could make money (or lose it) but it will not be because you are getting a share of their earnings.  Well, unless it pays dividends on the same day.

Answer 2

the only thing that happens is that the price of the stock goes up which will only help if you sell.  Some companies with dividends raise their dividend if they do well.

If you own a Real Estate Investment Trust which is like a mutual fund then they have to distribute most of their earnings so they do pay out at the end of the year.

Answer 3

A shareholder earns dividends based on earnings, at the time of distribution of dividends, if the company pays dividends.  A shareholder earns profits on a stock when they sell - anything else is just a paper profit.