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Casting conference calls

Author

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  • Cohen, Lauren
  • Lou, Dong
  • Malloy, Christopher

Abstract

We explore a subtle but important mechanism through which firms can control information flow to the markets. We find that firms that “cast” their conference calls by disproportionately calling on bullish analysts tend to underperform in the future. Firms that call on more favorable analysts experience more negative future earnings surprises and more future earnings restatements. A long–short portfolio that exploits this differential firm behavior earns abnormal returns of up to 149 basis points per month or almost 18% per year. We find similar evidence in an international sample of earnings call transcripts from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Japan. Firms with higher discretionary accruals, firms that barely meet/exceed earnings expectations, and firms (and their executives) that are about to issue equity, sell shares, and exercise options are all significantly more likely to cast their earnings calls.

Suggested Citation

  • Cohen, Lauren & Lou, Dong & Malloy, Christopher, 2020. "Casting conference calls," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101136, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:101136
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/101136/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Barth, Andreas & Laturnus, Valerie & Mansouri, Sasan & Wagner, Alexander, 2021. "ICO analysts," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242429, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Kate Suslava, 2021. "“Stiff Business Headwinds and Uncharted Economic Waters”: The Use of Euphemisms in Earnings Conference Calls," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 7184-7213, November.
    4. De Amicis, Chiara & Falconieri, Sonia & Tastan, Mesut, 2021. "Sentiment analysis and gender differences in earnings conference calls," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Shen, Lingbo, 2022. "Essays on behavioral finance and corporate finance," Other publications TiSEM a9b98a25-a208-4ba6-9344-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Wu, Di & Gao, Shenghao & Chan, Kam C. & Cheng, Xiaoke, 2022. "Do firms strategically respond to retail investors on the online interactive information disclosure platform?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    7. Noh, Joonki & Zhou, Dexin, 2022. "Executives’ Blaming external factors and market reactions: Evidence from earnings conference calls," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    8. Tim Martens & Christoph J. Sextroh, 2021. "Analyst Coverage Overlaps and Interfirm Information Spillovers," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 1425-1480, September.
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    11. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Huang, Zhongwei & Moldovan, Rucsandra, 2021. "Wall Street analysts as investor relations officers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    information; strategic release; firms; conference calls; SES-0847395;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

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