In the 12 months from Q3 2019 to Q2 2020, 81 percent of companies went on an in-person roadshow, down 12 percentage points from the previous year and 13 percentage points from the figure reported in our 2018 report.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic crippling business travel in Q2 2020, 83 percent of North American and European companies still managed to go on the road over the course of this year. In Asia, where the effects of Covid-19 were felt earlier, just under three quarters of companies were able to go on the road during this time, down from the 83 percent of Asian companies reported last year.
Fewer smaller companies have had the opportunity to go on in-person roadshows over the course of this year, with 78 percent of both small and mid-cap companies having done so in the Q3 2019 to Q2 2020 time period, down from 89 percent and 98 percent, respectively, the year before.
Larger companies saw less of drop in numbers undertaking in-person roadshows, with 89 percent of large-cap companies and 91 percent of mega-cap companies able to go on the road in this time. These figures are still down from 93 percent and 95 percent, respectively, in 2019.
The average number of in-person roadshows undertaken per company in the period Q3 2019 to Q2 2020 was 5.4, down two whole roadshows and representing a 27 percent fall from the previous year. Just 6 percent of these roadshows were held in Q2 2020 and 22 percent in Q1 2020. Companies went on an average of 3.9 roadshows during the second half of 2019, which is consistent with the previous year’s figures.
Regionally, the average number of in-person roadshows varies from 4.7 for Asian companies to 7.5 for European companies, with European firms losing more than three roadshows from the previous year.
Asian companies, many of which would have entered into lockdown earlier than companies from other regions, held 13 percent of their in-person roadshows in Q2 2020 – likely indicating the different cycle Asia has been on in this pandemic.
The average number of roadshows according to company size ranges from 4.5 at small caps to 9.1 among mega-cap companies. The number of small-cap roadshows is just 0.2 fewer than the previous year, while mega-cap companies saw a drop of nearly eight roadshows over the same period.
The fall in in-person roadshow activity has led to a 30 percent cut in the number of days spent on the road. The average firm spent just under 12 days on the road between Q3 2019 and Q2 2020, five days fewer than the previous year. North American firms spent just under four fewer days on the road than in 2019, while both European and Asian companies lost around six days each.
As the number of in-person roadshow days drops, so too does the difference in days spent on the road according to company size. There is now a difference of just over eight days in the time spent by small and mega-cap firms, compared with the more than 21 days recorded in our 2019 report. Small caps’ days on the road have dropped by around a quarter this year, while mega-cap days have halved.
