Tales from Wall Street: Surviving Earnings Season

/in /by

If a non-deal road show is a planned marathon made up of many, many sprints – earnings season is like a sprint that feels like a very long marathon.

At the risk of sounding a bit like a New Age-y Californian, here are the tips for how I survive earnings season:

  1. Stay Fueled. For you, it may be a Starbucks triple espresso, but for me, it’s my morning smoothie. My personal favorite recipe has 2 cups of kale or spinach, ½ a red grapefruit, ½ an orange, 3-4 strawberries, a few slices of Persian cucumber, a handful of raspberries, 1-2 tsps of raw maca powder (for extra pep in my step) and one tablespoon of chia seeds for protein.
  2. Find your Earnings Season touchstone to maintain your mojo. The most frustrating part of any earnings season is the “middle.” It could be the script’s not done, your team’s onto the XXth revision, you just found out that Yahoo’s printed the wrong analyst estimate, or you’re simply wondering how you will get everything done by Earnings Day.

Maintaining your mojo can be hard but incorporating fun little rituals and having a touchstone activity, can help refocus and reinvigorate your Earnings Season ninja skills. For me, it can be as simple as taking a moment to call or text my hubby* with a quick hello or performing freeway karaoke to my favorite IR songs to remind me that there is life outside of earnings season.

  1. Get Some Good Sleep. It can be hard getting a full night’s sleep when your mind is filled with anticipation for that upcoming earnings call. But as anyone will tell you, a good night’s sleep can do wonders for making sure you are feeling your best and on top of your game come Earnings Day. Research shows that it’s not about the hours you get, but the quality and depth.  Here’s my favorite sweet treat recipe for getting a good night’s sleep the evening before Earnings Day:

1 cup almond milk

1/2 a frozen banana

2/3 cup frozen bing cherries (pitted)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tbsp. of raw cacao nibs

1 tbsp honey

Toss all ingredients in blender. Mix until smooth.

  1. Put Together a Fun Earnings Day Ritual. It might be having your team wear a certain color on earnings day or going out for a quick bite at a favorite local hangout, but I always find that sharing a simple ritual or tradition before the conference call is a fun way to make sure that your team gets some fresh energy before tackling that last stretch of your Earnings “sprint.”

You’ve researched, written, edited, rehearsed and planned for this day. Now your investors get to hear about your results for the first time. Good luck!

*(My hubby has been my rock through nearly 50 earnings seasons to date and despite his own busy work schedule, still has managed to send me a quick “good luck and I love you!” text just before each earnings call. Thanks hon! This one’s for you – and all of the understanding spouses and significant others who support the CEOs, CFOs and IR professionals during and outside of earnings season.)

– E.E. Wang, ewang@pondel.com