F5 Networks Inc, ManpowerGroup Inc., Seagate Technology PLC and other stocks have published their quarterly earnings.

Markets did not have a clear cut direction — Nasdaq closed 12,072 after a stable day. Dow Jones closed at 33,800 after a flat day.

Logitech International S.A. and Ceragon Networks Ltd. 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.

F5 Networks | Negative surprise today

F5 Networks Inc reported earnings of 1.34 per share and revenue at $7.58 million.

A quiet day for F5 Networks as it remained range-bound within a $133.12 – $136.3 range before closing at $134.02. Daily trading volume (716,651 shares) was slightly above the current multiday average of 649,518.

ManpowerGroup: mixed results

The company reported earnings results Thursday; with EPS at 1.88 and revenues at $4.75 billion, these results are mixed compared to a consensus of 1.63 Earnings Per Share and $4.81 billion revenue. Since the release of its earnings report, ManpowerGroup lost 6.18%.

Generally flat but with a slight bullish bias, ManpowerGroup ranged between $72.93 and $74.64 before closing higher at $74.59. Daily trading volume (366,109 shares) increased, making up 118% of the 21-day average (310,171).

The data storage spearhead has recovered almost all of its session losses after dipping down to $54.34 Friday. Daily trading volume (5.68 million shares) was higher than the current multiday average of 2.58 million.

Fifth Third Bancorp | Retains downward momentum since earnings report Thursday

The company reported earnings of 0.69 per share Thursday, falling short of expectations of 0.79. Revenue was also lower than expected at $2.21 billion versus $2.23 billion. Since the release of its earnings report, Fifth Third Bancorp lost 1.93%

An influx of sellers pushed the US bank holding company to end the session lower around $27.48, while establishing a $27.28 to $28 session range Friday.

The US bank holding company has shed 22.39% over the past three months. So far this year, it has been doing worse than the Nasdaq by 29.62%. Currently, the US consumer bank has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion with an average daily volume of 7.74 million shares.

Genuine Parts: mixed results

Genuine Parts reported earnings results Thursday, with EPS at 1.86 and revenues at $5.77 billion; these results are mixed when compared to a consensus of 2.03 Earnings Per Share and $5.67 billion revenue. Since the release of its earnings report, Genuine Parts gained 0.01%.

Early in Friday's session, Genuine Parts dropped to $166.24 from $168.62 at the end of Thursday, before closing at $166.52. During the session, it lost 1.25%. Trading volume totalled 934,185 which equates to around 93% of the stock's 21-day average Friday.