The Associated Press (via NY Times) has an article explaining how so many US companies regularly manage "to beat analysts' estimates": Corporate America has a habit of low-balling the earnings forecasts used by analysts to determine their estimates. That way, the bar is lower, and companies can easily jump over when the quarter's results are announced -- even if profits and revenues have fallen off a cliff. ...Beating expectations generally gives share prices a quick lift, but the news can mislead investors about the real state of the business -- and just how far this economic recovery has to go. In fact, of the companies reporting third-quarter results so far, 60 percent have posted lower net income compared with a year ago. ...A study of stock returns from 1994-2007 concluded that analyst forecasts were the second-most influential force on price movements. Management forecasts topped the list, according to Beverly Walther, an accounting professor at Northwestern Un...