One of the most important pieces of information to gather is the date a company is expected to make its quarterly earnings announcement. The Earnings Center on the Market Research section of The Dedicated Trader is an excellent place to find all the data necessary to prevent being burned by a surprise announcement.

The Earnings Center helps traders track down all the earnings information that's important when it comes to buying or selling options. Understanding the importance and unpredictability of an earnings announcement can be the difference between a big profit or a large loss in the market. BetterTrades has designed the Earnings Center to keep its traders safe and profitable.

One format which displays the information is the Earnings By Company tab. This page displays the earnings report for the current quarter and lists the expected announcement date for the next quarter. Earnings can be released before or after the date, so it's important to be in or out of a trade at the appropriate time.

If a trader wants to widen the focus of earnings day, the Earnings Center allows them to see a list of all the stocks who share the same date to announce earnings. Sometimes there can be a couple hundred companies that announce earnings on the same day. The page gives the average earnings estimate, as well as the high and low projections. The stock name and symbol are given to facilitate any potential stock or option play that may ensue.

The same earnings information can also be viewed week-by-week or on a monthly calendar format. All formats give the user the option to zoom ahead in time, meaning the trader has no excuse to let an earnings announcement slip up on them.

Earnings announcements have much power. They can make or break a trade. They can be a source of great profit or great pain. To make sure you're on the right side of the deal, check the Earnings Center on The Dedicated Trader.