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Innovative Ideas for IR Communications
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ontinually improving the way we communicate with Wall Street is essential for every iRO. The Silicon Valley chapter learned new communications techniques during a recent program that focused on earnings. Panelists Deborah Crawford, vice president of iR at Netflix, and David Gennarelli, director of iR at Autodesk, discussed innovative ideas from their iR programs. Autodesk and Netflix have implemented earnings practices that go beyond the norm. Both companies provide guidance on the
although netflix and autodesk have taken similar paths, the companies differ in their disclosure formats and in how they conduct earnings calls. business outlook and include this information in a press release one hour prior to the earnings call. in addition, they lead pre-call disclosure by providing the management commentary and detailed financial results on their websites in advance of the call. Although Netflix and Autodesk have taken similar paths, the companies differ in their disclosure formats and in how they conduct earnings calls. While both publish management comments prior to the call, the Autodesk commentary is formatted
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in a fashion similar to a press release, and Netflix publishes an actual script for the call.
Two Approaches During an Autodesk call, Gennarelli operates in a traditional manner, with prepared remarks followed by a Q&A session. The prepared remarks are limited to 10 minutes, however, including the safeharbor statement. At Netflix, Crawford does not provide prepared remarks during the call other than safe-harbor language, and she follows a strict Q&A format. Crawford accepts questions from analysts via e-mail only; she reads the questions, and the management team responds. Both iROs have found that their processes allow several more questions to be taken during the call. Gennarelli and Crawford noted that the quality of the questions is better because the analysts have had time to review all earnings results in advance.
Empowered to Think Creatively When asked about the key to improving processes, Crawford responded, “We, at Netflix, are not afraid to fail.” That’s good advice for all companies and individuals. To be a leader and an innovator, one must be willing to take some risk. Also required:
conducting due diligence, surveying constituents, and assessing the pros and cons of various techniques before determining which one is most likely to succeed. Gennarelli advised iROs to “stop doing nonessential activities.” Think about the value of what you are producing. if a report is not being consumed, it is not worth your time to write it. This thinking can be applied to seemingly untouchable efforts as well. After considering the value of the annual letter to shareholders, Autodesk reached out to key analysts and investors to ascertain whether this message was actually still read. The feedback was a resounding “no,” and Autodesk stopped including a letter in its annual report. Any complaints about this change? Not a one. Contributed by Lisa M. Hartman, vice president of programs for the Silicon Valley chapter and senior investor relations manager, Juniper Networks,
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Sunnyvale, California; lisah@juniper.net.
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