How do you craft a compelling earnings release for your investors?

In my experience, investors find it helpful to get a high-level, bullet-pointed list of key business highlights as close to the top of the press release as possible so that it’s easy to locate, skim, and digest. While it’s important to keep the bullets brief, it’s equally important to think about them as impactful, supportive statements.

(1) Given the extremely broad audience for earnings releases, tailoring your messages can be tricky. Many - if not most - public companies are so accustomed to their 'tribal' knowledge and industry jargon, that they assume their audiences understand the same language. Don't make this assumption. Explain the key messages in common language, with clear, simple examples whenever possible. (2) If there are specific stakeholders or audiences that you want to influence, be sure you understand their perspectives and concerns. Collect data on your audience from a variety of sources, such as web analytics, surveys, and social media metrics. Analyze this data to identify trends, patterns, and insights that can inform your messaging focus.

I see too many earnings releases (and earnings calls) that focus too narrowly on the quarter — and year — at hand. Yes, it's easier to hit consensus that way. But it also means investors aren't going to give you much of a forward premium because you aren't giving them the visibility, and the confidence, that your strategy has legs. Provide a longer-term narrative. Show investors how this quarter is part of a journey (strategy) that has years to run. And quantify how you're hitting every milepost along the journey. ("Here's what we said we were going to do. And here's what we have achieved to this date.")

One key area that is often neglected is the perspective of the target customers, who as we all will agree, is ever-changing. The strength of a product or a service should be highlighted from the areas where it addresses the customer's pain-points.

I think the focus should be away from quarterly earnings and toward the business purpose and social purpose, the aspirational business strategy going forward, its logic, and the programs that will make it work. Dave Aaekr

Spot on! an earnings release call is the right time to present the audience with an appropriate CTA that is relevant, actionable, and encourages investors to take the desired action. For instance, your company can encourage investors to follow them on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn to stay informed, and sign-up for your newsletter to get updates on future developments, or provide investors with the option to download an investor presentation can help them understand the company's performance better. The appropriate CTA will depend on the company's goals and the type of information being presented.