Unlock the power of two tailored decks—one for presenting live and one as an in-depth online version for post-call review—to enhance investor understanding, engagement, and trust during earnings calls.
In today’s corporate world, earnings calls are one of the most critical communication touchpoints between companies and their investors. These quarterly events provide businesses with a platform to report on their financial performance, update investors on strategic initiatives, and offer guidance on future prospects. Investor Relations (IR) teams work tirelessly to prepare for these calls, ensuring that the messaging is clear, consistent, and compelling. A key element of this preparation is the creation of presentation decks, which play a pivotal role in communicating the company’s performance and outlook.
However, the evolving complexity of financial markets and the varied needs of different investor audiences have introduced a significant challenge: how to deliver an effective live presentation while also providing a more detailed, static reference document for post-call analysis. To meet this challenge, leading IR teams have increasingly adopted the practice of creating two separate decks for earnings calls—one that is presented live during the call, and another that is posted on the company’s website afterward for deeper investor review. These two decks serve very different purposes, and understanding why they are necessary can significantly improve a company’s communication strategy and investor relations outcomes.
This blog post explores in-depth why companies should consider preparing two distinct decks for earnings calls, the roles each deck serves, and how this practice can enhance investor engagement, transparency, and trust.
The Role of Earnings Calls in Investor Relations
Before delving into the need for two decks, it’s essential to understand the broader context of earnings calls in investor relations. These calls typically take place after the company releases its quarterly or annual earnings report. During the call, the company’s executive team—usually including the CEO, CFO, and Investor Relations officers—reviews the financial results, highlights key developments in the business, and answers questions from analysts and institutional investors.
Earnings calls serve several key functions:
- Financial Reporting: They provide a platform to discuss the company’s performance, including revenue, profit margins, and other key metrics.
- Strategic Updates: Companies use these calls to provide insights into their long-term strategy, including updates on growth initiatives, product launches, mergers and acquisitions, and market conditions.
- Guidance and Outlook: Management teams often provide forward-looking guidance, offering investors a sense of what to expect in upcoming quarters.
- Investor Confidence: The tone and clarity of an earnings call can significantly impact investor confidence and, consequently, the company’s stock price. Poorly executed calls can lead to stock volatility, while well-executed ones can boost investor trust and drive stock performance.
Given the high stakes, it’s clear why meticulous preparation is critical for earnings calls. But why are two different decks necessary? Let’s break it down.
The Purpose of the Live Presentation Deck
The first of the two decks is the live presentation deck, which is used during the earnings call itself. This deck is designed to complement management’s spoken remarks and is typically displayed on-screen for investors who are listening to the call via a webcast. This deck plays a key role in guiding the narrative of the earnings call, ensuring that investors stay engaged and can easily follow the main points being discussed.
Here’s why the live presentation deck needs to be distinct and tailored to the moment of the presentation:
1. Simplicity and Clarity Are Key
The primary goal of the live presentation deck is to support what is being said in real-time by the management team. This means the deck needs to be concise, visually engaging, and easy to understand at a glance. In an earnings call setting, investors and analysts are already processing a significant amount of information—both financial data and strategic commentary—so the live deck should not overwhelm them with excessive detail.
Effective live presentation decks:
- Focus on key metrics and highlight critical points (such as revenue growth, profit margins, and strategic priorities).
- Use clear visuals, such as charts, graphs, and bullet points, to make data digestible.
- Avoid clutter or overly complex explanations that might distract from the verbal narrative.
A good live presentation deck distills complex information into high-impact visuals and short summaries that help listeners follow along without needing to process too much detail at once.
During an earnings call, the management team needs to maintain a steady pace as they walk investors through the company’s performance. The live presentation deck should align closely with this pacing, ensuring that the slides are advancing at a rate that matches the spoken presentation. This requires the deck to be streamlined, with each slide covering only the essential information being discussed at that moment.
For example, if the CEO is discussing revenue growth in a particular business segment, the corresponding slide should show a simple graph or a few bullet points summarizing the key figures. The slide should reinforce what is being said, rather than presenting a dense array of numbers that distracts the audience.
3. Focused on the “Big Picture”
The live presentation deck is primarily aimed at emphasizing big-picture themes rather than diving deep into granular details. This is because the purpose of the live presentation is to give investors a cohesive narrative about the company’s performance and strategy, without overwhelming them with minutiae. Key messages such as strategic initiatives, market trends, and high-level financial results should dominate the presentation, leaving more detailed data for post-call reference materials.
For example, in a live presentation, a company might highlight a slide showing that revenue increased by 10% year-over-year, with a brief mention of which regions or products contributed most to that growth. More granular details, such as the performance of individual product lines or detailed regional breakdowns, can be reserved for the post-call deck.
4. Engaging Visuals to Maintain Attention
Investor attention spans can be short, especially during a lengthy earnings call. Therefore, the live presentation deck should use engaging visuals—such as dynamic charts, infographics, and images—to maintain investor focus and make complex data easier to understand. This can also help reinforce the management team’s key messages.
By using simplified charts and bold visuals, companies can make sure their audience is paying attention to the right numbers and key strategic points without getting bogged down in overly technical details.
The Purpose of the Post-Call Reference Deck
After the earnings call, companies typically post the presentation deck to their website, allowing investors and analysts to revisit the material at their own pace. This is where the post-call reference deck comes into play, and it has a very different purpose from the live presentation deck.
While the live deck is all about simplicity and engagement, the post-call deck is designed for in-depth analysis and investor review. Here’s why this distinction is important:
1. Deeper Dive into Financial Data
The post-call reference deck is where investors expect to find more detailed financial information. This deck serves as a resource for those who want to dig into the company’s performance in greater detail—particularly analysts who are building financial models and projections.
For example, while the live presentation deck may only highlight top-line revenue growth, the post-call deck should provide more granular data, such as:
- Segment-specific performance
- Regional breakdowns
- Detailed income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow analysis
- Adjustments and reconciliation for non-GAAP measures
By providing a comprehensive set of data in the post-call deck, companies ensure that analysts have everything they need to fully understand the company’s financials and assess its future prospects.
2. Contextual Explanations and Additional Commentary
The post-call reference deck can also include more detailed commentary and explanations that were not covered in the live presentation. This is particularly useful for complex topics that might require additional clarification, such as the impact of currency fluctuations, the effect of regulatory changes, or detailed guidance on future performance.
For example, while the live presentation may have mentioned that the company is seeing headwinds due to supply chain disruptions, the post-call deck could provide a more in-depth analysis of how these disruptions are impacting different regions or product lines.
This additional context can help investors and analysts better understand the company’s challenges and opportunities, allowing them to make more informed decisions.
3. Serving a Different Audience
The audience for the post-call reference deck is different from the live audience. While the live deck is geared toward a broad audience—including retail investors and institutional investors who want a quick summary of the company’s performance—the post-call deck is designed primarily for analysts and sophisticated investors who are looking for a deep dive into the numbers.
These individuals often use the post-call deck to build financial models, assess valuation, and compare the company’s performance to its competitors. For this audience, granular detail is essential, and the post-call deck should provide it.
In the live presentation, it’s common to focus on a few high-level metrics or KPIs, such as revenue growth, earnings per share (EPS), and margins. The post-call reference deck, however, provides an opportunity to expand on these metrics and offer more detailed KPIs that are critical to understanding the company’s health.
For example, a company might include metrics like customer churn, average revenue per user (ARPU), or growth in active users in the post-call deck, giving investors a clearer picture of the operational performance behind the financial results.
5. Allowing Investors to Analyze at Their Own Pace
Unlike the live earnings call, which is time-bound and fast-paced, the post-call reference deck allows investors to review the information at their own pace. This is particularly important for institutional investors and analysts who need time to digest the company’s performance, compare it to expectations, and formulate questions or opinions.
By providing a detailed, well-organized post-call deck, companies make it easier for investors to perform in-depth analyses, which can ultimately lead to more accurate assessments of the company’s value and potential.
The Benefits of Having Two Separate Decks
Now that we’ve established the different roles of the live presentation deck and the post-call reference deck, let’s explore the benefits of having two separate decks.
1. Improved Communication During the Live Call
By creating a separate live presentation deck, companies can focus on delivering a clear and concise message during the earnings call. This ensures that investors and analysts can easily follow along and absorb the key points without being overwhelmed by excessive detail. The use of engaging visuals and a streamlined narrative helps maintain attention and keeps the call on track.
2. Enhanced Transparency and Trust
Providing a more detailed post-call reference deck enhances transparency and fosters trust with the investment community. Investors appreciate having access to comprehensive information, and the post-call deck demonstrates that the company is willing to provide the necessary data for in-depth analysis. This transparency can help build stronger relationships with investors and reduce uncertainty, which in turn can lead to more stable stock performance.
3. Catering to Different Investor Needs
Different investors have different needs. Retail investors and institutional investors may prefer a high-level summary during the live call, while analysts and sophisticated investors require more detailed information for their financial models. By creating two separate decks, companies can effectively cater to both audiences, ensuring that everyone gets the information they need.
4. Managing Expectations and Market Reactions
Earnings calls can have a significant impact on a company’s stock price, and poor communication during the call can lead to stock volatility. By preparing two separate decks, companies can ensure that they communicate effectively during the call and provide the necessary detail afterward, helping to manage expectations and reduce the risk of negative market reactions.
5. Supporting Analyst Reports and Investor Research
The post-call reference deck serves as a valuable resource for analysts who need to produce detailed reports on the company. By providing comprehensive data and explanations, companies can make it easier for analysts to build accurate financial models and provide more informed recommendations to their clients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating two separate decks for earnings calls—one for the live presentation and one for post-call reference—has become an increasingly important practice for investor relations teams. These decks serve different purposes and cater to different audiences, ensuring that companies can deliver a compelling narrative during the live call while also providing the detailed data necessary for in-depth analysis afterward.
By adopting this approach, companies can improve their communication with the investment community, enhance transparency, and ultimately build stronger relationships with their investors. In a world where investor confidence and trust are critical to long-term success, the use of two decks for earnings calls is not just a best practice—it’s a strategic imperative.