IBM, Lam Research Corp, Baker Hughes Co are the ones to read about today.

Markets did not have a clear cut direction — after dropping 0.23%, Dow Jones closed at 33,900. Nasdaq closed 12,157 after a stable day.

KB Financial Group Inc. & Carter's, Inc. due to release their earnings reports within the following week.

What is an earnings report?

An earnings report is an official statement of a company's profitability over a certain period of time. Usually, these reports are released four times a year (quarterly reports) and have a significant impact on the market. These announcements are typically taken into consideration when making predictions.

Markets are flat and stocks have released their quarterly earnings reports. Here is an update on what to look out for.

IBM: mixed results

IBM reported earnings results yesterday; with EPS at 1.4, these results are ambiguous when compared to a consensus of 1.26 Earnings Per Share. Since the release of its earnings report, IBM lost 1.14%.

Early in yesterday's session, IBM dropped to $125.3 from $127.78 at the end of Tuesday, before closing at $126.32. During the session, it lost 1.14%. Daily trading volume (6.18 million shares) was above the current multiday average of 3.96 million.

Lam Research | beats expected EPS of 6.54

Lam Research was down, even though its quarterly earnings released on yesterday beat the analysts’ estimates. The reported earnings of 7.4 per share on revenue of $3.87 billion, topping estimates of 6.54 per share on revenue of $3.83 billion.

After ending Tuesday at $495.37, Lam Research declined to $482.74 yesterday before closing at $491, thereby losing 0.88% in total. Daily trading volume (1.69 million shares) was slightly greater than the current multiday average of 1.30 million.

Baker Hughes: mixed results

Baker Hughes reported earnings results yesterday, with EPS at 0.15 and revenues at $5.72 billion; these results are mixed when compared to a consensus of 0.26 Earnings Per Share and $5.51 billion revenue. Since the release of its earnings report, Baker Hughes gained 3.59%.

Bullish sentiment helped the oil field service company to hammer out a noteworthy $29.76 to $30.82 range yesterday, and finally closing at $30.56 to end the session. Daily trading volume (10.42 million shares) increased, making up 148% of the 21-day average (7 million).