Earnings Season: Four times in a year when a majority of public companies release financial information. Earnings season typically lasts about a month and starts the second week of January, April, July and October. Often communicated by press releases, conference calls and filings with the SEC—companies share earnings-per-share, financial statements and commentary from management.

Earnings season can be a time when markets experience of more volatility and trading volume. Much of this reaction is based centers on the difference between what companies were expected to report and what they actually reported.

Source: InvestingAnswers