Engage your C-suite, managers, disclosure teams and service providers – then practice your content
Preparation is critical to the overall success of earnings calls in terms of both content and delivery. Whether hosting a quarterly, half-yearly or annual reporting event, establishing the format of how an individual company wants to present results – and alongside what associated messaging and content – needs careful planning and consideration.
Mickey Foster is vice president of investor relations at transportation and e-commerce multinational FedEx Corporation. Commenting on his own preparation, he says: ‘About a month before issuing earnings, we start planning meetings with all of the operating company chief executives and CFOs to understand the why behind the quarterly numbers. We also develop a list of the top 10 topics and questions most likely to be asked on the earnings call.’
As well as involvement from the C-suite, FedEx’s preparation includes input from other departments within the company, including the disclosure committee, which comprises the IR, accounting, finance, legal and communications teams.
‘The investor relations team plans meetings with our disclosure committee to review speaker remarks, slides and our earnings release,’ Foster explains. ‘The committee further reviews the quarterly stats book and 10Q. The IR team also meets with our economics and sales team before earnings and there are many practice sessions held where potential Q&As are reviewed with the speakers: our CEO, CFO and chief marketing officer.
‘On the day itself, we typically have around 6,000 people on our quarterly earnings calls, including about 5,000 employees participating. We issue after the market close and then distribute the earnings release, stat book and 10Q.
‘About an hour or so later, we conduct a conference call for analysts and a webcast with slides for all other interested parties.’
Getting into gearThe earnings call format for UK luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin consists of a listen-only webcast for public use, coupled with a dial-in call for analysts. Led by the IR team, the event reinforces the importance of a multi-department approach to preparation, as Holly Grainger, deputy head of IR, explains: ‘From a logistical standpoint, the first task is to get in touch with our trusted call provider to secure our slot.
‘Then the investor relations team runs the whole process and schedules all preparation meetings, including time with key divisional leaders to obtain color on our developments during the quarter. We hold review meetings with the finance and legal teams, as well as our brokers and advisers. Drafts of RNS announcements, slides, scripts and Q&A are all run concurrently.’
We focus on the strategic highlights – and sometimes lowlights – of the quarter
Adding his input, Adam Richford, head of treasury and investor relations at European waste management company Renewi, says: ‘We typically host our results in person, inviting analysts, lenders and advisers. The results are then live-streamed to our international audience and made available on the website, and we typically have a facility available for equity analysts to ask questions in the room or over the phone.
‘The content is then shared across social media and, for full-year and half-year results, we usually include a short video as well. Our materials are typically prepared over the preceding six weeks to the event. We start with the key topics we want to cover and go through the process of drafting and consulting the material with input from advisers, including corporate brokers and our financial PR firm.’
Giving an insight into her methods, Lynn Antipas Tyson, executive director of investor relations at multinational automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, comments: ‘As we prepare for the actual event, well in advance, we meet with our chief executive and CFO to share our suggested topics and review what IR thinks will be the key questions – and we incorporate any feedback they have.
‘From there, we develop the script, earnings deck, Q&A and press release. We err on the side of brief prepared remarks and we don’t recite all the numbers. Rather, we focus on the strategic highlights – and sometimes lowlights – of the quarter.
‘We place a premium on being transparent and forthcoming and leave ample time for the Q&A.’
