profit warning

Meaning

1. 1nouncountablebusiness

   A public statement from a company that its earnings will be lower than investors were told to expect.

   Grammar: Countable: issue a profit warning, two profit warnings.

   Patterns

   • issue a profit warning
   • a profit warning from someone

   The retailer issued a profit warning after a weak holiday season.

   Shares fell ten percent on the day of the profit warning.

   Analysts expected a profit warning once the cost of materials began to rise.

Word forms

Common combinations

issue a profit warning

The airline had to issue a profit warning in the spring.

second profit warning

A second profit warning shook investor confidence.

trigger a profit warning

Higher fuel costs could trigger a profit warning.

avoid a profit warning

Managers cut spending to avoid a profit warning.

shock profit warning

The shock profit warning surprised the market.

Synonyms and how they differ

earnings warning

Earnings warning is the same idea and is common in American business news, while profit warning is more typical in British English.

downgrade

A downgrade comes from analysts, whereas a profit warning comes from the company itself.

trading update

A trading update is a neutral report and may be positive, while a profit warning is always bad news.

Opposites

Word family

profit noun

money gained after costs

profitable adjective

making a gain

warn verb

to tell someone about danger

warning noun

a statement of possible danger

Commonly confused: profit warning or loss warning?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “profit warning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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