BY AL RICKARD, CAE
Many companies are adopting group analyst calls on earnings day. Explore the pros and cons and learn how IR professionals are making them work.
Following up with analysts after earnings calls can be time-consuming, and reaching them all in a timely manner can be challenging. One solution to this challenge is to conduct group analyst calls on earnings day.
Alex Bariahtaris, Analyst, Investor Relations with Boston Scientific Corporation, recently posted on the NIRI eGroups about this option, asking NIRI members to comment on the pros and cons of group analyst calls, how they are conducted, and how analysts react to them. Several investor relations (IR) professionals responded with in-depth advice.
“I have implemented group analyst callbacks for much of my IR career, and they have proven to be a very effective model,” says Tara Atwood-Saja, Vice President and Head of Investor Relations at Arhaus, Inc.
“Shortly after our earnings call, I host a single group callback with our covering analysts, their juniors, and include the Arhaus executive team. This approach provides timely executive access when results are fresh and leadership is available, while also creating meaningful engagement with our sell-side analysts who may not otherwise have regular interaction with our executives during the quarter as they focus on running the business.
“I also conduct full-up one-on-one calls with analysts, which are more geared toward modeling-related questions. Overall, analyst feedback on this structure has been positive.”
Carolynne Borders, Chief Investor Relations Officer at GE HealthCare Technologies Inc., adds:
“We moved to hosting two separate group sell-side analyst calls versus separate calls on the day of earnings. Before the change, I reached out to a handful of analysts to solicit their thoughts and all were supportive, particularly with our CFO joining for a portion of each call.
“In our medical technology industry, I learned that more than half of the analysts’ coverage universe holds group analyst calls today. They like the more efficient format and the calls also provide the opportunity for analysts to hear what their peers are asking. Most analysts will send a follow-up email separately with questions they deem to be differentiated. The key is to host the calls in the morning so analysts can issue their reports in a timely manner.”
The Pandemic Effect
“I implemented a group sell-side call beginning with our Q4’19 call on March 18, 2020—one good thing that came out of the pandemic,” recalls Christiane Pelz, Vice President, Investor Relations at Five Below, Inc.
“I had researched the logistics and received feedback months prior to pulling the trigger, which is why we were able to do it smoothly with one day of notice. We’ve never looked back, and with our coverage growing to 25 analysts, this one decision has been a real game-changer.”
Her big takeaways include:
Format/Timing
We finish our public earnings call at 5:30 p.m., start the group call at 5:45 p.m. and usually complete it by 6:30 p.m. We use the same format for both calls with an operator calling on the queue. Everyone on the analyst teams is welcome to attend and ask questions. If we don’t get to all the analysts in the queue on the public call, I prioritize them for the follow-up call.
I also receive a recording of the call, which the FP&A team then transcribes. We do not make the transcript publicly available, but it helps to have it for reference.
Pros
Efficiency — My CEO and CFO love it because it is a huge time saver for them. It also eliminates answering the same question 25 times.
Access — Most analysts also love it as it gives them additional access to the CEO and the CFO. The CEO does not participate in many meetings throughout the year, so this is an additional touchpoint, which is especially important for our current CEO as she is relatively new.
Speed and accuracy — The call is used to quickly clarify any questions coming out of the public earnings call and to provide answers to modeling questions.
Cons
The more senior analysts did not like it at first and often still required a one-on-one callback. However, this is no longer the case.
I also typically touch base with each analyst throughout the quarter to answer any questions and ensure their models are correct, so it does create a little more work for me, or at least it shifts the work to later in the quarter.
Repetition can also occur—occasionally analysts ask questions we already addressed on the public call, so I am not sure they are listening to both. But that happens at the end of the public call, too.
Changing Sell-Side Trends
“When I was an investor relations officer over 20 years ago, no analyst would agree to a group call,” says Tim Quast, President of ModernIR.
“The point of follow-up discussion was to establish a competitive research advantage. None wanted to share a line of questioning that might make a certain view or model more valuable to the buy side.
“The fact that analysts now are fine with group discussion reflects changing sell-side trends. If information isn’t competitively advantageous, participation becomes the measure of success.
“I think the shift to group calls reflects how 28(e) Safe Harbor considerations are the principal motivation. If the use of time is considered ‘research,’ the cost can be distributed to clients via ‘soft dollar’ arrangements. Disbursing costs to clients improves margins.
“It explains why we still have many analysts, even though 60-75% of assets under management are now passive.”
Kip Rupp, CFA, IRC, Vice President, Investor Relations at Quanta Services, Inc., says:
“We have about 35 sell-side analysts and began doing group follow-up calls with them and our management team on the same day as our earnings call. We provide three 30-minute slots, and they can attend one or more of those calls.
“This change has been a resounding success for three reasons:
- Improved time management: Much more efficient use of our time to manage a large analyst pool, allowing us to spend more time with our investors.
- Increased sell-side analyst participation: Previously about 25% of analysts requested follow-up calls. Now about 80% of our sell-side analysts are joining the calls along with their associates.
- Better informed analysts: Given the significant increase in participation, analysts are better informed because they can ask questions and hear from management directly.
“Our message is communicated better and more consistently, and we are able to correct misperceptions and reduce mistakes in earnings notes. They are also getting face time with management.
“We have received very good feedback about the change. Several analysts commented that it is helpful to hear the questions their peers are asking. A couple of old-school analysts who have followed us for a long time made comments at the beginning, but have now embraced it.”
Creating Meaningful Interactions
“After a decade of conducting one-on-one sell-side follow-up calls, we moved to a group call format this year,” says Neal Goldner, Vice President of Investor Relations at Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation.
“It’s much more efficient for us. But equally important, our customers (the analysts) like the format too. Conversations are more engaging and even enjoyable. We let them know we are also available for separate calls.”
Brian Vereb, Head of Investor Relations at Bread Financial Holdings, Inc., says:
“Moving to group calls has enhanced our engagement with sell-side analysts; we invite their entire team, so everyone is hearing the same message at the same time. This approach has created efficiencies for both sides.
“We’ve found a quick pre-quiet period call and a longer, post-earnings call with sell-side analysts has worked well and prompted more meaningful conversations. What would have been about a half dozen one-on-one calls has trimmed down to 2-3, with the option for follow-ups as needed.”
“We aim to maintain strong relationships and ensure analysts have the time to gain the clarity they need, while keeping the process streamlined for everyone.”
“We started hosting group analyst calls in February 2025 after hearing feedback that they were not able to ask enough questions during the 10-minute one-on-one calls we did previously,” says Matthew Tractenberg, IRC, Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations at Shoals Technologies.
“Now we offer five separate 25-minute group calls with five analysts each. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
“Our format is to publish our results with an in-depth shareholder letter the night before and then hold the video call the next morning,” says Luke Wyse, EVP, Head of Investor Relations at Triumph.
“We jump right into questions after a couple minutes of opening remarks. No script, no recording. We have found that elevates the call dramatically and is a good way to communicate with analysts before they publish.”
One-on-One Analyst Calls Still Needed
“Analyst group calls do not replace individual follow-up calls,” Atwood-Saja cautions.
“Specific questions about modeling typically come in days or weeks later, often through email or short 10-15 minute calls. Analysts appreciate knowing that follow-ups are welcomed once they have had time to work through their models.
“Outside of earnings day, I stay in regular contact with analysts throughout the quarter with brief calls or email exchanges. Touching base right before the quiet period with 10-20 minute calls is very valuable and consistently appreciated by our analysts.
“Then four weeks later, we are back into the next earnings cycle. Conferences, roadshows, group investor calls, and store tours fit naturally between those periods.
“I have also run the model with individual callbacks scheduled back-to-back on earnings day. In my experience, that approach is less efficient, more repetitive, and often happens before analysts are fully ready to engage and know exactly what to ask for their model.”
Chip Newcom, Vice President of Investor Relations at Rivian, outlines a three-step process his company uses:
- Group Analyst Call: We host a 30-minute sell-side analyst group call about 30 minutes after our earnings call. Analysts email IR their questions in advance so we can combine duplicate questions and ensure we cover key areas for follow-up.
- Individual Sell-Side Calls: After the group call, IR and our CFO host one-on-one calls with about 80% of our covering analysts. We rotate who gets to talk to whom, but we limit these calls to 15 minutes to get through our coverage.
- Virtual HQ Visits: The day after our earnings call, we have two sell-side analysts host hour-long Zoom calls with our CEO, CFO, and IR. These calls are open to the analyst and their clients.
“We’ve found these are a great force multiplier for our messaging and enable a broad swath of investors to hear directly from our management team. It also saves time because the calls usually have more than 100 investors who then don’t need to have individual callbacks with IR.”
Biju Perincheril, a former sell-side analyst, says:
“I personally valued one-on-one pre-earnings catch-ups more than post-earnings callbacks. I felt group calls were sufficient for post-earnings follow-up most of the time. This approach will free up additional time for management to follow up with key shareholders.
“That said, I always appreciated IR teams that made themselves available for a deeper discussion the following day when needed.”
For his part, Bariahtaris concludes:
“My team will certainly be exploring the group call format going forward. It will require some change management, particularly with some of the more senior analysts used to one-on-one time with IR and leadership, but that’s true for any process change.”
Al Rickard, CAE, is Editor-in-Chief of IR Update and President of Association Vision, the company that publishes IR Update for NIRI.