The vast majority of investors and analysts want IROs to consider international time zones and competing company calls when they schedule their earnings calls, while IROs say they generally schedule earnings calls according to the preferences of their company’s management, according to a survey by Corbin Perception.
Eighty-six percent of investors and analysts say timing is one of the aspects they value most about earnings calls, making it the most mentioned aspect in the survey. Respondents also say they encourage companies to give them plenty of advance notice and to stick to the schedule. But only 31 percent of IROs say they consider the timing of calls of other companies in their industry. IROs also generally plan earnings calls according to management preferences, the report authors state.
More than three quarters (78 percent) of investors say emailed press releases and slides are an important part of preparation for earnings calls, almost in line with the 69 percent of IROs who say the same thing. At the same time, just under two thirds (64 percent) of analysts and 60 percent of IROs agree that scheduling time with management after the earnings call is an important part of the process.
IROs, however, are slightly more likely than investors and analysts to stress the importance of availability to answer questions after the earnings release is mailed out but before the call. Only 40 percent of analysts and investors cite this as important, compared with 44 percent of IROs. Thirty-six percent of IROs say it’s important to allocate investor time with management after the release but before the call, compared with only 27 percent of investors.
IROs also place greater emphasis on reaching out ahead of the call to assess sentiment, with 39 percent citing it as best practice. Thirty-six percent of investors and analysts agree.
But emailed takeaways following earnings calls are viewed as key by far more investors than IROs, with 36 percent of investors seeing them as important and only 13 percent of IROs agreeing it is a best practice to routinely undertake after calls.
