Editor's Note: Earnings season is upon us - where do you fit in?
Below, check out trends and tactics for leveraging releases.
Already maximized your release's potential? See page 7 for how to
get the most out of your earnings call.
Trend: Take a hint from our neighbors to the North. Canada
Newswire recently released its analysis of Q3 2002 earnings
releases by companies listed on the S&P/TSX Composite Index,
finding that Canadian companies are making a concerted effort to
report any and all the information stakeholders may need to
know.
- Half of publicly-traded Canadian companies listed on the index
disclosed stock-based compensation in their Q3 earnings
release. - Q3 earnings releases surpassed Q2 releases in average length by
20 percent.
Tactics: If PR and IR don't work closely within your
organization, you may have little say over the release. But make it
a point at least to know and understand what your company is
reporting so you can readily answer media queries.
If you are able to influence the reporting of earnings, make it
a point to push for more disclosure. Journalists might gripe about
lengthy releases, but better to include info up front than to
explain in a crisis situation why certain numbers were not
disclosed.