Chris Johnson

   

Although earnings season doesn't "officially" start until Alcoa's (AA) quarterly report kicks off the third-quarter championship round, you don't have to wait until earnings season begins to start raking in profits of your own based on how well (or how poorly) publicly held companies perform.

The markets may be enduring triple-digit losses, but we just kicked off our very own earnings season with two triple-digit winners. And we're just getting started!

As an options trader, no doubt you hear about earnings season when it comes around in mid-January, April, July and October. But do you know how to leverage this powerful time period to your advantage?

Learning the Earnings Game

Sure, the World Series and Super Bowl Sunday are much-anticipated. But personally, I can't wait for the excitement of earnings season, because I get to watch my favorite sport four times a year … and double my money at least that many times, each time around!

Every publicly held company has to report not only their performance during the past quarter, but they also typically provide outlooks for the following quarter and possibly the full year as well.

No other market event offers more opportunities for traders to earn big bucks not only on companies' fiscal hits and misses during the past three months, but also for the effect on shares from all of that "other" data that means so much to Wall Street.

Even missing analysts' estimates by just a penny might send an otherwise-great stock sinking, while surpassing Wall Street's expectations by just 1 cent per share can send the same stock soaring.

Many investors trade reactively during earnings season. That is, they buy the stocks of the companies that did well, and they offload their shares in the companies that might not have performed so well. That's a lose-lose proposition -- if you're getting to the table, or leaving it, too late, then someone else is benefiting big-time.

This earnings season, it's time for you to bank one winner after the next, selling your positions to the latecomers.

It's time to make earnings season the most-profitable time of your year!

Find the Best Times to Trade Options

There are certain times to circle on your calendar when there are more options opportunities than usual to take advantage of!

Outsmart the 'Dumb Money' With Profitable Earnings Trades

Everyone wants to follow what they perceive as the 'smart money.' But don't confuse those players with the 'dumb money' -- because you can make BIG profits off of their foolish bets!