Investor Day Webinar Recap
Extending a heartfelt thank you to all of you who attended our Investor Day webinar in partnership with Notified, The Offensive Strategy: Best-in-Class Investor Day. A special thanks to our distinguished panelists, Ed Egl — VP of IR at WM, Philip Ng — Managing Director at Jefferies, and Denise Pacioni — Senior Manager of IR at AeroVironment, for generously sharing their invaluable experiences, knowledge, and best practices. We sincerely appreciate your partnership!
During the session, we were thrilled to receive thought-provoking questions from the audience which sparked a dynamic discussion amongst the panelists, packed with actionable insights and strategies for executing a top-tier Investor Day. If you weren’t able to join us, today’s Thought Leadership piece recaps key takeaways and insights from the webinar.
Click here to access the webinar replay and view the presentation. We hope you find the content insightful, and as always, we welcome any feedback you might have.
Setting the Stage
An Investor Day is the most impactful platform for companies to more deeply educate the investment community on their investment thesis and long-term strategy, highlight the depth of their leadership team, and deepen appreciation for sustainable competitive advantages and the businesses. It also serves as an opportunity to build credibility by providing face-to-face engagement and real-time answers to key questions and concerns. Perhaps the most underappreciated aspect of an investor day is the forcing function of internal alignment and narrative crystallization that sets the table for value creation.
Corbin’s Proprietary Research
Our research shows 94% of investors and analysts view investor days as a valuable use of their time when successfully executed, with most expecting companies to host one every two to three years irrespective of market cap. Notably, an impressive 76% of the investment community share with us that content presented at an investor day led to a buy decision or rating upgrade.
However, we often remind presenters that investor days are not a TED talk. Think of your equity as the product itself — you are demonstrating to the investment community that your stock is a compelling investment. Importantly, 71% of investors and analysts favor more substance with content-rich slides versus great graphics and fewer words. As a result, reiterating key messages, preparing your executives and next-level leadership, and preparing to hit a homerun with Q&A are critical success factors.
In our experience, having helped our clients conduct more than 250 investor days, companies should book their venue of choice 6 to 12 months in advance, and exceptional events require an execution timeframe of at least 4 to 6 months. If you are concerned about attendance, our research shows that over 9 in 10 investors and analysts prefer the event to be held at a New York City Midtown location. While in-person attendance is a focus, the real power is in the content that will have a long shelf life and serve as the first communication channel for investors new to the story.
In terms of content, investors cite long-term strategy, capital allocation, and growth initiatives as the leading topics of interest, while Q&A, management access, and exposure to the bench are far and beyond the most important elements of the event. In this vein, two common mistakes we see from companies are 1) not including presenting leadership beyond the CEO and CFO and 2) running too long on prepared remarks and cutting the Q&A time short. Best practice based on investor preference is to include two Q&A sessions during the event. Indeed, in an analysis of top performing Investor Days within our Corbin Analytics database, 80% of top-performing events have multiple Q&A sessions!
Best practice based on investor preference is to include two Q&A sessions during the event. Indeed, in an analysis of top performing Investor Days within our Corbin Analytics database, 80% of top-performing events have multiple Q&A sessions!
Best practice based on investor preference is to include two Q&A sessions during the event. Indeed, in an analysis of top performing Investor Days within our Corbin Analytics database, 80% of top-performing events have multiple Q&A sessions!
Webinar Recap
As mentioned, our webinar included a lively panelist discussion featuring Ed Egl, Philip Ng, and Denise Pacioni, moderated by Corbin’s own distinguished Investor Day experts, Thang To and Rob Lockerman.
Panelists
Ed Egl
VP, Investor Relations WM
30+ years; primary liaison for day-to-day inquiries from investors and stock analysts, communicating the company’s business strategy and competitive position in the marketplace
Philip Ng, CFA
Managing Director Jefferies LLC
20+ years; equity research covering Building Products and Paper & Packaging; serving as a top-ranked buy side analyst with a focus in industrials
Denise Pacioni
Sr. Manager, Investor Relations AeroVironment
25+ years; experience in corporate investor relations, corporate finance and banking, financial planning, business development and operations
Moderators
Thang To, CFA, CPA
SVP & Head of Investor Day Practice Corbin Advisors
Rob Lockerman, CFA
Vice President, Advisory Corbin Advisors
20+ years; experience in strategic planning, business transformation, and investor relations in the financial services and insurance industries
Moderated Panel Summary
What role does an Investor Day play in strategy, and what are the specific benefits?
- Sets the base for the company’s messaging for the next 12-18 months
- Provides a strong platform for strategic communication and help address specific investor concerns
- Helps management make a strong impression, showcasing their strategic vision and depth of leadership with a receptive audience of investors
- Ensures internal alignment among management
- “Investor Days serve as a forcing function for the whole management team to be singing from same string of music” – Ed Egl
What are the expectations from analysts and investors for Investor Days?
- Share or update long-term financial targets, which are essential for investor decision-making
- Introduce key members of management so they can interact with the investment community
- Provide insights into areas that may be underappreciated by the market, or where a stock’s valuation doesn’t fully reflect potential
- Detail updates to strategy, showcase new products, and provide face-to-face time with executives and business leaders
- “Introducing or reintroducing key members of your management team who are likely successors to the C-suite is a benefit, and the best way to do that in short amount of time is holding an Investor Day” – Denise Pacioni
What advice do you have for management teams who are reluctant to host an Investor Day due to volatile macro conditions?
- Emphasize long-term targets while addressing short-term uncertainty
- Provide a clear framework for understanding the company’s earnings power, even in uncertain macro environments
- Utilize scenario analysis to explore a range of potential outcomes, particularly under volatile conditions
- Maintain consistency in holding Investor Days, even during challenging times — it’s important to keep a regular cadence of communication, regardless of whether the company is facing internal or external difficulties
- “At the end of the day, analysts and investors are there to learn and hear something incremental” – Philip Ng
How do you address long-term targets when the environment is uncertain or choppy?
- Be honest about uncertainties when you cannot provide clear answers; if there are external factors, such as elections or pending regulations that may impact long-term guidance, it’s better to acknowledge these openly, but also focus on what is within your control and the playbook for adapting depending on exogeneous factors
- Provide ranges and emphasize how external factors may affect your targets while focusing on long-term industry trends
- “Long-term targets need to be achievable and conservative. Provide a range.” – Philip Ng
What are some practical tips for executing an Investor Day when executives are busy?
- Hold a kickoff meeting with clear milestones, the presentation theme, messaging, attire, and flow of topics for each person
- Be prepared for deadlines to slip due to executives’ busy schedules, and build in extra time to accommodate
- Ensure a consistent and smooth working relationship with marketing and/or the external team responsible for drafting the slides to streamline the process
- “Offer executives ‘elevated handholding’ to ensure the process goes smoothly” – Denise Pacioni
Webinar Attendee Q&A Summary
Do investors prefer virtual or in-person formats?
- Provide flexibility; in-person meetings are valuable for those who want to meet management, but many investors prefer the virtual format if they don’t want to travel
- Offer smaller, in-person discussions, which are highly valued
- Incorporate subject matter experts into some of the smaller, more intimate settings
- “During the breaks in between presentations, investors really value that time when it is a smaller setting. They may not want to ask a question in a public forum” – Thang To
Is there value in holding an Investor Day if no new strategy or long-term targets are available?
- Yes, there is value in updating investors on progress against previously stated goals, even if no new strategy or targets are shared
- Ensure the investment community receives incremental updates that help them assess the company’s execution
- “Updating the investment community toward progress against stated goals is something new” – Thang To
What do you define as long-term targets? What metrics are most important?
- 3-5 years is typically the range for long-term targets
- Tailor metrics to what is most important in your industry
- In addition to revenue and earnings, provide operational metrics like efficiency improvements and capital allocation as indicators of progress
- “Supplement targets with other key operational metrics that help to demonstrate progress over time” – Ed Egl
How can companies ensure strong attendance for Investor Days?
- Send personal invitations, along with the agenda and details of who investors will meet
- Offer hands-on experiences or product demonstrations
- Target potential attendees slightly outside the usual market cap range or generalists to attract aspirational investors
- Have the C-suite reach out directly to investors
- Include subject matter experts or expert panels at the event to draw attention
- “I’ll send a target 2-3 emails with information before ultimately sending them to the registration page” – Denise Pacioni
How should companies prepare executives for Q&A when they are reluctant to practice?
- Encourage executives to practice, particularly if they will be presenting new material
- Ask difficult questions; the mock Q&A should test executives under tougher conditions than the actual event
- “Even though the management team may be comfortable answering questions, because you’re likely talking about new targets or an acquisition, not all executives are going to know the right messaging that’s ready for The Street” – Ed Egl
TOP 5 BEST PRACTICES
Engaging management early and throughout process; reworking goals to be realistic “the numbers are the numbers” and scheduling multiple in-person working sessions, dry runs, and dress rehearsal in advance
Developing content-rich slides; ensuring long-term strategy and critical themes are woven throughout all presentations and messaging is forthright
Marketing the event to drive interest and attendance; issuing a press release announcing the event, leveraging earnings call to remind key constituents of the event, and issuing a press release the day of to highlight key themes
Offering attendees meaningful interaction with management (e.g., hosting a sit-down lunch after the formal presentations); provide classroom seating, Wi-Fi and outlets
Providing ample time for Q&A; incorporating multiple Q&A sessions (at least two, equating to a total of 45-60 minutes)
TOP 5 WORST PRACTICES
Presenting stale information, an unclear strategy and/or limited transparency; providing no long-term targets or view of the company
Exhibiting a defensive posture towards challenging questions or cutting Q&A short; having only CEO answer questions
Highlighting only CEO/CFO as presenters at Investor Day; no additional access to leadership (i.e., exposure to management “not frequently seen”)
Using excessive industry jargon or acronyms without appropriate explanation and creating slides with fewer words and only graphics
Hosting the Investor Day concurrently with announcing quarterly results
In Closing
Investor Days serve as a catalyst for management, pushing them to refine and accelerate the development of a more robust strategy, clarify the company narrative, and reimagine the investment thesis. It is through this process that companies are able to sharpen their vision and communicate a more cohesive and compelling story. The result is a more confident management team with a unified message that resonates with the investment community, unlocking significant re-rating potential and long-term value creation.
We hope you find our research and insights timely, enriching, and actionable. As always, please Contact Us if you are interested in learning more about how we may be able to help in your investor day journey.