Almost every webcast provider now includes telephone dial-in in the same product, so checking that dial-in exists tells you very little. The differences are in how callers get on the line, who gets to ask questions, who runs the queue, and what happens to the phone audience after the call.
This article goes through what to check when you choose a provider for earnings calls, and how we handle each point at Inderes.
1. Do you know who is on the line before they speak?
On many conference bridges, callers wait in a queue while an operator takes their name and company. That adds minutes to the start of the call, and the names are only as accurate as what the operator heard.
On our platform, phone participants register before the event with their name and company. They get a conference ID and a personal user ID, so when they dial in, the system already knows who they are. There is no operator queue to get through, and the host sees named participants from the first minute.
This matters most in the Q&A. You want to know that the fourth question came from a named analyst at a named firm, both for the transcript and because the CFO usually wants to know who is asking.
2. Do investors register once, or once per channel?
Investors register once for the event. The confirmation includes both the web link and the dial-in details, and each participant decides how to join. Someone who planned to watch at their desk and ends up in a taxi can call in instead, without registering again.
Joining by phone takes one tap. The dial-in link has the conference ID and the participant’s personal ID already filled in, so nobody has to type codes from a screen.
3. Can you decide who gets the phone line?
The Q&A on an earnings call is mostly for analysts and institutional investors. With a large retail audience, an open phone line can fill up with participants the Q&A was not planned for.
You can restrict dial-in to selected investor profiles, for example sell-side analysts and institutional investors. Participants choose their profile when they register. Everyone else follows the webcast and can still send written questions.
If you want tighter control, dial-in registration can be opened to invited participants only. That gives you a separate registration route for analysts and invited investors, alongside open registration for the webcast.
Phone and browser questions land in one queue. A phone participant presses #5 to raise a hand and appears in the same list as browser participants, marked so the host can tell them apart. The moderator moves, pins or lowers hands from that one list, and when a caller is brought forward their line opens straight away.
4. Who runs the call?
You can have a human operator or an AI operator, chosen per event.
A human operator is what most companies are used to, and for a flagship call it is often the right choice. An experienced person is on the line and handles the unexpected.
The AI operator opens the call, introduces the speakers and works the Q&A queue, reading out each caller’s name and firm: “The next question comes from John Doe from Acme Inc. Please go ahead.” It is available at any hour. That matters in late October, when most Nordic listed companies report within the same two weeks and operator slots at 09:00 are hard to get. It also removes a per-event cost, which adds up over four quarterly calls.
What you want from a provider is the choice for each event, not a decision locked in when the contract is signed.
5. Where can people dial in from, and what if a speaker drops?
We publish local dial-in numbers for 30 countries on our website, not on request: the Nordics, most of Western Europe, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. Standard national call rates apply. If you have significant shareholders in Latin America or the Middle East, check coverage before the event.
Speakers can dial in too. If a speaker’s internet connection fails mid-call, the host can call them on the phone and they continue from there. Results day is the wrong day to find out your provider has no backup for this.
6. What happens to the phone audience after the call?
Transcripts are generated automatically for every event and can be searched in the player. Subtitles and translations are available in several languages, including dubbing in the speaker’s own voice. Questions asked by phone are included in both the transcript and the live captions.
Phone participants appear in the same audience data as web attendees: who they are, which firm they represent and how they joined. A separate conference call log shows who was actually on the line. For the IR team, the list of who attended, including who dialled in, becomes input for investor targeting and follow-up rather than a headcount for the board.
Registration data is stored in the EU.
7. Do you run it yourself, or have it produced?
You can run the event yourself in our Webstudio, or hand it to our remote production team. Dial-in works the same way in both, and you can switch from one quarter to the next without changing provider.
If you do not want cameras on results day, an audio-only audiocast with slides is a standard option.
8. Who else sees the event?
Your own invitation list is the core audience. On top of that, events on our platform are listed on Inderes, which reaches Nordic retail and institutional investors. For a company with a Nordic shareholder base this widens the audience at no extra effort. For others it is a smaller bonus.
What does it cost?
Four things move the price:
- Self-service or produced. Running the event yourself costs considerably less than having a production team on it.
- Human or AI operator. The AI operator removes a per-event cost.
- Event type and length. A 60-minute quarterly call, a half-day Capital Markets Day and a virtual AGM are different scopes.
- Annual or one-off. Four calls contracted together are priced differently from a single event.
Dial-in is included in the licence.
Questions to ask any provider
Each of these can be answered with a yes, a number or a demo:
- When a caller joins, does the host see a name and firm, or a phone number?
- Do investors register once and choose web or phone, or register separately for each?
- Can we limit the phone line to analysts and institutional investors?
- Show us the moderator view in a live call. Are phone and browser questions in one list?
- Can we choose between a human and an automated operator for each event?
- Which countries have dial-in numbers, and are they published or sent on request?
- Does the transcript include questions asked by phone, and do phone participants appear in the audience data?
- Is dial-in included in the licence, or charged per minute?
For the full evaluation beyond telephony, see our guide to choosing an earnings events provider.
Planning your next reporting season? Explore Inderes Earnings Events or book a walkthrough — we will show you the moderator view with a phone caller in the queue.
FAQ
How does a phone participant ask a question? They press #5 on the keypad to raise a hand. They appear in the same queue as browser participants, and their line opens when the host brings them forward.
Can investors choose between web and phone after registering? Yes. One registration covers both, and the confirmation includes the web link and the dial-in details.
Can we keep the phone line for analysts only? Yes. Dial-in can be limited to selected investor profiles, or opened only to invited participants. Everyone else follows the webcast and sends written questions.
Can we still have a human operator? Yes, chosen per event. The alternative is the AI operator, which introduces the speakers and announces each caller by name and firm.
Can we run an audio-only event? Yes. Audiocasts with slides are a standard option.
