Playing the odds, this is good news.
Here's a copy and paste from an abstract on a study out of rutgers/stern:
This study examines the value relevance of the timing of earnings announcement dates relative to
prior expectations. It shows that when firms advance their earnings announcements at least four
days prior to expectations, the earnings surprises in those quarters tend to be positive and the
abnormal returns from two days after the earnings release date was announced through one day
after earnings are actually announced are positive and significant. The converse is true for firms
that delay their earnings announcement at least four days relative to prior expectations. The study
also shows that firms which delay their earnings release date at least four days after previously
setting the date earlier are characterized by both negative earnings surprises and abnormal
returns from the delay announcements through one day after the actual earnings announcement
date. These results can be used by investors to earn abnormal returns, by security analysts in
revising their forecasts, and by option traders when earnings announcement dates cross option
expiration dates...
...when the firm has a positive earnings surprise, it is more
likely to rush and disclose it early for several reasons. It can upstage similar good news by other
firms in the same industry, it can set the bar higher for other firms in the industry, it can attract
analysts' and institutional investors' attention, and it reduces the likelihood that a negative event
will occur (such as a natural disaster, regulatory investigation, revoking its license), which would
need to be disclosed with earnings, potentially harming the good earnings surprise. Thus, the
timing of the earnings disclosure can potentially signal the direction of the earnings surprise
-RG
