IR therefore I AM

Once again, the time for the quarterly earnings conference call is upon us. For
some, this causes much wailing and gnashing of teeth (particularly as the CFO
pours over the books looking for the last penny or two he might have missed
or battles his outside auditors over one issue or another). For others,
it is a normal course of business activity as they typically have the routine
down to a science.

The quarterly conference call offers management the opportunity to shine,
get the company’s key messages across, present insights into its strategic
plans, and discuss the progress of its turnaround program, among other important
items. Perhaps, most importantly, the conference call enables management
to talk directly with the company’s investors and provides them with a forum
to question management. How well your company prepares for the call will
go a long way in burnishing your company’s reputation and standing.

We offer some insights into facilitating a good conference call:

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We always seem to be debating something. Mantle or Mays… Mary Ann or
Ginger… And, of course, earnings guidance [Ed. Note: Some of you may
have to consult Google, your parents or grandparents for the first two references]. While
I do not expect that this post will resolve any of the aforementioned, I will
present some pros and cons on the subject of earnings guidance.

Over the recent past, a number of companies, including many household names,
have discontinued the practice of providing earnings guidance due in large
part to the economy. One CFO was heard to opine, “Let ‘the Street’ do
it. They do it better than we do.”

Let’s look at both sides of the issue:

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We’re sure investors used some rather “interesting” language to describe the
situation that unfolded at Rosetta Stone this week.

In brief: Rosetta Stone’s stock declined 27% to $20.63 on Monday, August 17th,
following news that the maker of software for learning languages dropped plans
to sell some 4.3 million shares and revised its third quarter profit estimates.

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