Two of our open positions report earnings this week, IBM after the close today and MSFT after the close tomorrow. We have seen earnings cut both ways in affecting our trading positions over the past eight years, sometimes seeing options soar, sometimes seeing them decimated. Most of the time no big deal after the first 1-2 days post earnings. My personal preference is to ignore earnings in my trading, with the exception of positions that are already way up in which case I trim size. After its past three earnings announcements IBM has topped out and fell 20+ points over ensuing month: Apr 17th; Jan 18th; Oct 17th The official portfolio will stand pat, no change in advance of these announcements. Individual traders feel free to adjust positions to your comfort levels.
