Research teaser: Sell-side notes and questions top factors in assessing earnings call success

IROs say the quality of sell-side notes is the biggest indicator of how successful an earnings call has been, according to new research from IR Magazine, set to be published this week.

The Earnings Call Research Report, published in the spring 2022 issue of IR Magazine, finds that more than a third of IROs cite the quality of analyst notes as the most important factor in assessing how well an earnings call has gone. That is followed by how prepared the firm was for addressing analyst questions during the call, with 29 percent giving this a top-place position.

IROs were offered a list of six options to choose from: quality of analyst notes, quality of callbacks, stock price performance, news and media coverage, preparedness for analyst questions and management satisfaction.

Interestingly, stock price performance following the call is ranked above management satisfaction. The two factors of least importance to IR professionals are quality of callbacks and media coverage, rated in top place by just 4 percent and 1 percent, respectively, of IR respondents.

The Earnings Call Research Report looks at three areas related to earnings calls:

• The process of setting up the calls, particularly with regard to use of video and whether prepared remarks by management are pre-recorded or presented live
• Engagement within the calls themselves, including who provides input from the corporate side, involvement in the Q&A section and how investors typically interact with the call
• How both companies and investors evaluate the call, what they find particularly useful and what mistakes investors commonly encounter in earnings calls.