More than four in 10 respondents (43 percent) say they held a virtual roadshow in the year from Q3 2022 to Q3 2023, a significant decrease from the prior year when more than two thirds (67 percent) of companies did so.
This year’s figure is consistent across North American, European and Asian respondents and does not vary much with cap size, save that large-cap companies (39 percent) were slightly less likely than average to have held a virtual roadshow.
The average number of virtual roadshows held in the past year has also fallen, down to 3.4 from 4.6 between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022, as companies continued the trend of returning to in-person events.
Asian companies held the highest number of virtual roadshows in the past year, with an average of eight – perhaps reflecting a slower return to normal travel patterns than the rest of the world – while North American companies held the fewest at 2.3.
The number of virtual roadshows held is highest at the 46 percent of mega-cap firms that did so, with an average of six roadshows, followed by the 45 percent of small caps that held an average of 3.6 virtual roadshows.
Companies that held virtual roadshows spent an average of 6.9 days conducting them, a significant decrease from last year’s average of 9.4 days. Far fewer days were spent on virtual roadshows by North American firms (3.7) than by Asian companies (17).
The number of days spent on virtual roadshows broadly increases with cap size, although small-cap companies spent more time on them (6.5 days) than their mid or large-cap counterparts (6.1 and 6, respectively).
Senior management attended slightly fewer roadshows at companies that held virtual events than at those that held in-person ones. CEOs and CFOs both attended an average of 17 percent of such events on their own, while both the CFO and CEO attended 23 percent. IROs conducted 23 percent of virtual roadshows on their own.
CFO-only attendance was highest among European companies (26 percent), while CEOs were part of roadshows most often in North America (34 percent). Solo senior management attendance does not align with cap size, but small-cap companies are the most likely to have higher attendance from both their CEO and CFO. Small caps are also more likely than not (54 percent) to have only IROs attending virtual roadshows.
Respondents who held virtual roadshows between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023 used an average of 3.3 brokers to aid in the task, down from an average of four the year prior. Asian firms tended to rely on brokers to help organize virtual events far more than European or North American companies.
The number of brokers used to help organize virtual roadshows rises in line with company size, with small caps engaging an average of 2.7 brokers, increasing to 5.3 for mega-caps.
