Organising a CMD on earnings day — the best idea ever, or the worst?

We've heard about a trend that is bubbling under in the Nordics: organising a Capital Markets Day or an Investor Day on the same day as an earnings event. In this article, we look at the emerging trend to see if it's worth exploring in practice.

A CMD is a key moment to communicate your mid-to-long term strategy to the markets. As such, it demands countless hours and often a serious investment. On top of everything that goes into organising a CMD, you have your biannual or quarterly earnings events. It’s easy to see the appeal of combining the two on the same day. The synergy seems plausible: you save a bit of trouble and act financially responsibly. Kind of.

So, is it a good or a bad idea? At least according to Inderes’ Head of Research, Antti Viljakainen, it’s not a good one. Why so, Antti?

“These are two fundamentally different conversations,” Viljakainen says. “Earnings is about near term. A CMD is about the next three to five years. On the same day, you’re constantly jumping between a quarterly margin and a long-term strategic target. That makes it really hard for anyone to properly absorb the strategic story, which is kind of the whole point of a CMD.”

A bad quarter actively undermines your strategic credibility. People are sitting there thinking: why should I believe these long-term targets if they can’t even nail this quarter?

And even with a perfectly structured agenda, earnings will always steal the show. “On a results day, analysts and investors are laser-focused on the numbers to calibrate their short-term estimates and valuation view: how did the quarter land, where did it miss consensus, how is the business environment, what’s the near-term guidance. If you then present your 2030 strategy right after, those messages get buried. Worse still, a bad quarter actively undermines your strategic credibility. People are sitting there thinking: why should I believe these long-term targets if they can’t even nail this quarter?”

There’s also the plain logistics. Analysts on a results day have a full plate before the CMD even starts: earnings calls, model updates, reports to write, investors to talk to. “By the time the CMD kicks off, analysts and investors have not had time to think through the implications of the strategic choices or prepare proper questions. You end up with shallower questions and less meaningful dialogue with management. Which is obviously a shame, because that back-and-forth is one of the most valuable parts of the CMD event.”

Finally, your key audience is simply overstretched. “For mid- and large-cap companies, there’s a good chance several other companies are reporting the same day. If your CMD is bolted on, some people won’t make it at all. Others will show up late, leave early, or be half-present with one eye on their phone.”

The apparent efficiency of combining the two events is largely an illusion. “Save the CMD for its own day. Give it the space it deserves".

Key takeaways

Two events, two different conversations. Earnings looks back and near; a CMD looks several years forward. Mixing them muddies both.

• Earnings will always dominate as short-term is more tangible than long-term. The quarterly numbers capture the room, and a bad result can undermine your entire long-term story.
• Analysts won’t be prepared. A results day is already a full day. There’s no time left to engage meaningfully with strategy.
• Your audience won’t be fully present. Expect lower attendance, early departures, and divided attention.
• The efficiency gains are an illusion. The cost is a CMD that underdelivers on its core purpose.

So, what should you do instead?

• Pick the right time of year. Aim for May or early June, September, or late November to mid-December — well clear of earnings or holiday seasons.
• Avoid clashes. Check what peers are doing that day. Competing for attention within your own sector is a losing battle.
• Stick to Tuesday–Thursday. Choosing mid-week helps you maximise participation.
• Announce early. Give people enough lead time to genuinely block the day and organize potential travel plans.
• Organize a webcast with broad distribution. Closed events for a privileged audience are a thing of the past.
• Choose the right partner. Having people around you who understand the market and what you’re trying to communicate matters more than most companies realise.
• Make your message crystal clear. “You can get all the logistics right and still have a CMD that doesn’t land,” Viljakainen says. “If the story isn’t clear, well argued and easy to understand, the rest doesn’t matter much.” But that’s a topic for another article.

If you want to discuss organising a kick-ass CMD for your company, contact us at b2b@inderes.com or fill out a form below.