You're right. But management guidance is usually below consensus. If it wasn't beating their own guidance but not the expectations wouldn't be really seen as a

You're right. But management guidance is usually below consensus. If it wasn't beating their own guidance but not the expectations wouldn't be really seen as a "beat". Or maybe that's not what you mean... "Beating" is about actual results being higher than expectations. I don't think I've ever seen someone before say "beating" with the meaning of "issuing a better-than-expected guidance". (That would be the "raise" part in "beat and raise".)