Guidance

A company's own forecast for coming results, such as next quarter's revenue, usually given as a range. Share prices often react more to guidance than to the results just reported.

Simple example

A company guides for next-quarter revenue of $95 to $105. If it then reports $103, it landed inside its range; if it reports $90, it missed its own forecast.

Guidance: $95–$105$90$95$100$105$110$103: inside$90: missedNext-quarter revenue
Made-up numbers, for illustration only.