Year-end Reporting: It’s Not Just About the Numbers
By The Equity Group
Against the backdrop of economic, geopolitical and market uncertainty, it is essential for public companies and their IR teams to rethink how they are presenting their company’s story. Companies should supplement their financial results with updates on their industry dynamics, realistic company expectations for the coming year (even in the absence of providing detailed financial guidance), a thoughtful and actionable strategy, information on key areas that impact the financials, and a clearly articulated long-term vision.
Some key topics in this market environment: cash flow, profitability, financial position, cost of debt and maturities, supply chain, pricing and cost outlook, and capital allocation plans.
Year-End Reporting Tips
- Get started early; organize the event and involve all parties.
- Set the date for reporting and work backwards.
- Be mindful of when peers are reporting earnings to optimize attendance on your company’s earnings call — this is especially important for smaller companies.
- Review current expectations in the market.
- Are we meeting, missing, or beating them?
- Assess the company’s current messaging.
- Is it resonating with the investment community? Does anyone care? Why should they? What are we missing or not communicating correctly?
- Consider what will likely be asked during the Q&A session.
- Be proactive: rather than guessing, reach out to covering analysts and large shareholders to see what’s on their minds.
- Research what peers are focusing on in their communications and how they are addressing similar micro/macro challenges.
- Be mindful of upcoming conferences and NDRs.
- These are opportunities to reiterate messages introduced during the earnings period.
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