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Straight Talkers and Vague Talkers: The Effects of Managerial Style in Earnings Conference Calls

Author

Listed:
  • Michał DZIELINSKI

    (Stockholm University)

  • Alexander F. WAGNER

    (University of Zurich)

  • Richard J. ZECKHAUSER

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

Managers conducting earnings conference calls display distinctive styles in their word choice. Some CEOs and CFOs are straight talkers. Others, by contrast, are vague talkers. Vague talkers routinely use qualifying words indicating uncertainty, such as “approximately”, “probably”, or “maybe”. Analysts and the stock market attend to the style of managerial talk. They find earnings news less informative when managers are vague; they respond less and more slowly as a result. Thus, quantitative information and straightforward contextual information prove to be complements. Vague communications have the potential benefit of tamping down over-optimistic analysts expectations.

Suggested Citation

  • Michał DZIELINSKI & Alexander F. WAGNER & Richard J. ZECKHAUSER, 2017. "Straight Talkers and Vague Talkers: The Effects of Managerial Style in Earnings Conference Calls," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 17-13, Swiss Finance Institute, revised Jun 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1713
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    Cited by:

    1. Baochen Yang & Yifang Liu & Yunpeng Su, 2023. "Earnings communication conferences and post‐earnings‐announcement drift: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2145-2185, June.
    2. Stewart, Christopher R., 2023. "Appraisal rights and corporate disclosure during mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1).
    3. Rahman, Sohanur & Sinnewe, Elisabeth & Chapple, Larelle, 2024. "Environment-specific political risk discourse and expected crash risk: The role of political activism," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    4. Giuseppe Matera, 2025. "Corporate Earnings Calls and Analyst Beliefs," Papers 2511.15214, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2025.
    5. Rupar, Kathy & Wang, Sean & Yoon, Hayoung, 2025. "Do sell-side analysts react too pessimistically to bad news for minority-led firms? Evidence from target price valuations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1).
    6. Suzanne Bijkerk & Josse (J.) Delfgaauw & Vladimir (V.A.) Karamychev & Otto (O.H.) Swank, 2018. "Need to Know? On Information Systems in Firms," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-091/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. Mansouri, Sasan, 2021. "Does firm's silence drive media's attention away?," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242433, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Hao, Mengshu & Xu, Yang & Yuan, Peiyao & Chen, Kecai, 2025. "Unveiling the impact of irrelevant answers on analyst forecast errors: A topic modeling approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

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