guidance

noun

guid·ance | \ˈgī-dᵊn(t)s

Definition of guidance

1 : the act or process of guiding

2a : the direction provided by a guide couldn't have done it without her guidance

b : advice on vocational or educational problems given to students provides guidance on how to apply for scholarships

3 : the process of controlling the course of a projectile by a built-in mechanism problems with the missile's guidance

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Examples of guidance in a Sentence

I couldn't have done it without her guidance. We need more guidance on how to handle these unusual cases.

Recent Examples on the Web

The company lowered its net earnings guidance for the year to $3.80 to $3.95 per diluted share from $3.88 to $4.03 previously. — Heather Haddon, WSJ, "Kroger’s Profit Squeezed by Investments to Transform Business," 6 Dec. 2018 And its e-commerce business delivered a 40 percent gain in sales, making its full-year guidance for digital growth look attainable. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Inside Facebook’s plan to protect the 2018 elections," 17 Aug. 2018 On one hand, Intel reported record revenue and even raised its revenue guidance for the year, pleasing analysts. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Intel says it will finally have 10nm PC processors by holiday 2019," 26 July 2018 Rogers' pass-heavy offense was an instant hit, including with Kirk Gibson, who became an All-American and eventual College Football Hall of Famer under his guidance. — Detroit Free Press Staff, Detroit Free Press, "Darryl Rogers' family: Ex-Detroit Lions, MSU coach died of natural causes," 12 July 2018 The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in its guidance on effective prevention messaging, notes that both young and old best relate to peers who can provide real-life insight. — Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, "Do those real-life addiction stories really keep kids off drugs?," 12 July 2018 Not long ago, [Rob] Wielgus was a respected researcher at Washington State University in Pullman, in the far eastern part of the state, with his own prosperous lab and several graduate students under his guidance. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump’s mockery of the #MeToo movement underscores the GOP’s problem with women in 2018," 6 July 2018 Image Not long ago, Wielgus was a respected researcher at Washington State University in Pullman, in the far eastern part of the state, with his own prosperous lab and several graduate students under his guidance. — New York Times, "Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Scientist?," 5 July 2018 Believes Tesla is tracking below its 2018 Model S/X guidance of about 100,000 units, based on the quarter-to-date May cadence. — Fortune, "Tesla's Mad Scramble to Meet Production Deadline Is Coming to an End," 30 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guidance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near guidance

Statistics for guidance

Last Updated

12 Dec 2018

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Time Traveler for guidance

The first known use of guidance was in 1590

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More Definitions for guidance

guidance

noun

Financial Definition of guidance

What It Is

In the stock world, guidance refers to public communication from a company regarding earnings expectations.

How It Works

The world of earnings guidance is large and fluid, whereby the management of publicly traded companies issue public estimates about what they expect earnings to be for the coming quarter. Guidance is based on management's experience, calculations and outlook, and it significantly influences the analysts covering the stock, because the analysts incorporate the information into their own research and earnings forecasts for their clients.

Before August 2000, it was legal for public companies to provide guidance to chosen analysts rather than publicly disclose their guidance. The SEC's adoption of Regulation FD in August 2000 prohibited this selective disclosure of material nonpublic information, and public companies must now publicly disseminate guidance and earnings estimates to analysts all at the same time.

When management becomes aware that the company probably will not meet the expectations it previously communicated, the company typically issues a profit warning via press release or conference call with analysts several weeks before announcing quarterly earnings.

Why It Matters

Guidance considerably influences stock prices because it helps investors evaluate a stock's potential. If investors expect a company to report, say, $0.10 in earnings per share next quarter, but the company actually reports $0.08, many investors might sell the stock and the company's stock price will therefore probably fall after the announcement. Conversely, if the company reports $0.12, the stock price will probably rise. The degree of "miss" or "surprise" influences how much the stock price will change. This is why guidance is usually a company's attempt to "soften the blow" or “fluff the pillows” before announcing earnings.

Some companies do not give guidance. They usually make that choice to reduce legal liability in the event that management's estimates are wrong. Some analysts claim that companies that do not offer any guidance often receive a "break" on stock price changes when these companies miss earnings, because the market is aware that the company's management has given the analysts (and their resulting estimates) no input.

Source: Investing Answers

guidance

noun