Financial Guidance — Glossary

The longer version

Financial guidance is management's forecast or range for future results such as revenue, margins and capital spending. It is usually given on earnings calls or in releases, for the next quarter or the year. It is the company's expectation and not a promise.

Guidance steers analysts' forecasts, so markets react to it as strongly as to actual results. Ranges are often set to be beatable, and some companies stop giving them. Check definitions such as constant currency, adjusted or reported, and which one-off items are included.

Microsoft guided December-quarter revenue to $96.0 to $97.1 billion, growth of 18% to 19%, with Microsoft Cloud gross margin of about 65% and capital expenditure above $50 billion, and said it expects to remain free cash flow positive in fiscal 2027. SK hynix guided its fourth-quarter DRAM bit shipments to grow in the mid-20% range from the third quarter, and NAND bit shipments to grow in the mid-single-digit range.

Compare guidance with past guidance and with actual results, and read the stated assumptions.

Where we use “Financial Guidance”

Tech BusinessThe Hyperscaler Funding Gap: How Big Tech's AI Capex Is Being Paid For
Four of the five largest AI spenders reported negative free cash flow in their latest quarter, yet operating cash still covers most of their capex in aggregate. Here is how bonds, new stock and leases fill the gap.
Nov 1, 2026Key term
Tech BusinessMicrosoft's Voluntary Exit Offer: What the One-Page Memo Leaves Out
Microsoft's 26 October Voluntary Exit Offer has one press-supported figure, about 60,000 eligible employees, and no published cost, deadline or acceptance count. We separate what the company post says from what only press reports and spoken statements supply.
Nov 1, 2026Key term
Gadgets & DevicesApple and the Memory Crunch: Smaller Phone Makers Lose Units, Apple Loses Margin
IDC measured Apple's third-quarter smartphone shipments down 4.0% while Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo fell 29% to 35%. The memory crunch is taxing volume at smaller makers and gross margin at Apple.
Nov 1, 2026

The longer version

Where we use “Financial Guidance”

Get the Core in your inbox.