By David Calusdian,President
Sharon Merrill Associates, Earnings Call, Investor Relations, Earnings, Investor Relations Trends
By Ian Rhoades, Senior Associate
Strategic Messaging, Sharon Merrill Associates, Earnings Call, Investor Relations, Earnings, IR Recommendations
When many management teams contemplate the quarterly earnings cycle, they think primarily about compliance – dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s. But while compliance is a major driver of financial disclosure, it should not be the only one – if it were, companies would file the 10-Q or 10-K and leave it at that. Take a more strategic approach to your next earnings cycle with these five tips.
Disclosure, Strategic Messaging, Investor Relations, Earnings, IR Compliance, reporting, Earnings cycle
This is Part II of our preannouncement series based on AlphaSense research. Today we focus on the qualitative discussion of the results in earnings preannouncements and the financial metrics used.
In my previous post, we focused on the factors that contribute to a company’s decision to preannounce its financial results – that is, provide the Street with a preliminary, high-level understanding of what its quarterly performance will be. Using AlphaSense, a unique search engine that offers an advanced level of information discovery, we looked at 59 preannouncement releases that were issued in the U.S. through the first six weeks of 2016. We examined the rationale for preannouncing and some of the issues at play when providing advance insight to investors.
Guidance, Investor Relations, Earnings, Preliminary Results, AlphaSense, Preannouncement
To preannounce or not to preannounce: Surely that is the question that stumps many management teams during the quarterly earnings cycle.
There are several reasons for a company to preannounce its financial results – that is, provide the Street with a preliminary, high-level understanding of what the company’s quarterly performance will be. Typically, a preannouncement is made in the weeks preceding the full earnings release and conference call. Management also may decide to update investors with preliminary results ahead of investor days, investment conferences and major acquisitions, so that it may speak about the most current financials and not violate Regulation Fair Disclosure.
Guidance, Disclosure Policy, CFO, Earnings Call, Earnings, Trends
By Dennis Walsh, Vice President
The Shareholder on a Shelf is a new tradition that has become the holiday gift of choice for IROs to their executive management teams. The story of the Shareholder on a Shelf is as follows:
“Have you ever wondered how the SEC could know;
If you’re naughty or nice in making your reported revenues and margins grow;
For 79 years it’s been a big secret;
Which now can be shared, if you promise to keep it.
At reporting time the SEC sends me to you;
I sit in the shadows to watch and report on all that you do;
My job is an assignment from Ms. Mary Jo White herself;
I am her helper, a friendly scout shareholder that sits on a shelf.
Holiday, Investor Relations Blog, Reg FD, Sharon Merrill Associates, Investor Relations Agency, Guidance, IRO, Shareholder Communications, Earnings Call, Investor Relations, Earnings, Investor Relations Firm, Activist Investors
By Dennis Walsh, Vice President & Director of Social Media
And the Award for Best Quarterly Earnings Results Conference Call goes to….
Giving awards to recognize production of an earnings call may be a little premature, but several companies are spicing up what is generally considered an uneventful quarterly ritual by the investment community. It is encouraging to see companies embracing the use of new technologies and social media for investor relations. Before you follow their lead, we can’t forget what is truly important to our key stakeholders about the process: transparency and access to management.
So what is all the fuss about?
IR Program Planning, Conference Calls, Earnings Call, Social Media, Investor Relations, Socialize IR, Earnings
By Dennis Walsh, Vice President & Director of Social Media
The SEC finally has provided guidance on the use of social media for investor relations. The guidance came in a report on its investigation to determine whether Netflix CEO Reed Hasting had violated Reg FD. In a Facebook status update on his personal account, Hastings said Netflix had streamed 1 billion hours of content in June 2012, calling into question whether the post was selective disclosure of material information.
In its report, the SEC clarified that companies can use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce key information in compliance with Reg FD. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, but with some key caveats.
IR Program Planning, Reg FD, Investor Relations Agency, SEC, IR Website, Disclosure Policy, Shareholder Communications, Earnings Call, Social Media, Small-cap IR, Investor Relations, Socialize IR, Earnings, Investor Relations Firm
By Dennis Walsh, Senior Consultant & Director of Social Media
It’s that time of year again: Back to School! For my first job out of college I worked as an educator. This year, for “Back to School” season, I thought I’d step back into my teaching shoes. The following is a quick lesson on social media for investor relations for the marketing and public relations professional.
Technology is constantly changing the way we engage with our audience, so professional communicators must never stop learning new techniques. As a seasoned marketing or public relations professional, you’ve likely got social media covered. But how fluent are you in investor relations best practices? If you work for a public company, you might want to rethink your social media engagement strategy.
IR Program Planning, Reg FD, Crisis Communications, Public Relations, Disclosure Policy, IRO, Shareholder Communications, Social Media, Investor Relations, Socialize IR, Earnings, Investor Relations Firm
By Maureen Wolff, President and Partner
Three years ago, on the heels of the greatest collapse U.S. financial markets have experienced in decades, in conjunction with IntelliBusiness/eventVestor, we published a study, “The Guidance Effect: Improving Valuation” (PDF 875 KB), that evaluated the impact of increased transparency on equity valuation during the turbulent first quarter of 2009.
The findings supported the thesis that issuing quantitative financial guidance contributes to improved stock performance. Given the climate of fear and uncertainty that permeated Wall Street during the study period, we hypothesized that providing guidance – and thereby increasing transparency for investors – likely had an unusually pronounced affect on stock price behavior at the time.
Disclosure, Reg FD, Sharon Merrill Associates, Guidance, Earnings Guidance, Earnings Call, Investor Relations, Earnings, Investor Relations Firm
