intel agent mislabeled guidance vs results in earnings briefing

TL;DR

Agents mix guidance with reported results because both appear as numbers in the same earnings release. Force the briefing template to separate the two with explicit labels and source quotes: 'Reported Q3 revenue: X (release, page 1)' versus 'Q4 guidance: Y (release, outlook section)'.

The error

briefing: 'Q4 revenue $5.2B' (this was guidance, not reported)
validation: figure appears only in the outlook section of the release.
Reader-facing error: presented forecast as fact.

Fix it

1. Fix the briefing by relabeling every forward-looking number as guidance with its source section cited. Expected: Expected: the corrected briefing clearly separates reported results from outlook.

2. Change the briefing template to require two distinct sections: 'Reported results' and 'Guidance / outlook', each with source quotes. Expected: Expected: the agent must place each number in exactly one section with evidence.

3. Add a validation rule: any number cited from the outlook or forward-looking-statements section cannot appear in the results section. Expected: Expected: mislabeled numbers fail validation before publishing.

4. Scan recent briefings for the same error pattern (guidance numbers in results sections) and issue corrections. Expected: Expected: a list of affected briefings with fixes.

When to use

• Your earnings briefings present guidance as reported results.
• You need template-level separation of fact versus forecast.
• You brief on earnings where the release mixes both.

When not to use

• The company gave no guidance - then the sections just stay empty.
• The number is a analyst estimate, not company guidance - label it as such, third category.
• The briefing is explicitly a forecast piece - then the framing differs, but still label sources.

Why it happens

Earnings releases put reported numbers and guidance in adjacent sections with similar formatting. Agents extracting 'revenue $5.2B' grab the number without its section context, and the briefing template had no structural separation to catch it. The error is in extraction context, not arithmetic.

Variant phrasings

briefing mixed guidance and results

Same failure and fix; some searchers phrase the query this way.

agent labeled forecast as reported earnings

Same failure and fix; some searchers phrase the query this way.

Edge cases

• Some companies guide in ranges ('$5.0-5.4B'); the agent must preserve the range, not pick the midpoint.
• Reaffirmed prior guidance looks like new guidance; check whether the number is new or repeated.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_xobu3e2JVM-2sU8PHuYRYQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_xobu3e2JVM-2sU8PHuYRYQ

Thread query: intel agent mislabeled guidance vs results in earnings briefing

TL;DR: Agents mix guidance with reported results because both appear as numbers in the same earnings release. Force the briefing template to separate the two with explicit labels and source quotes: 'Reported Q3 revenue: X (release, page 1)' versus 'Q4 guidance: Y (release, outlook section)'.