This article examines the characteristics of short-sales transactions prior to the earnings announcements of 913 Nasdaq-listed firms. The results indicate that short-selling does not generally increase for most firms prior to earnings announcements. For a subset of companies, however, abnormal short-selling is dramatically positive in the pre-announcement period. Model estimation presents evidence of informed trading in that pre-announcement abnormal shortselling is significantly linked with the stock price reaction that occurs when earnings are ultimately revealed. Given the results of this study, financial market rulemakers may want to consider providing more extensive and timely disclosures of short-selling in order to facilitate more orderly price movements and the efficient incorporation of private information into stock prices.