Resources
We conduct original research on the causes of short-term business decisions and work to find practical solutions.
Investor-Corporate Engagement, Policy and Geopolitics | Video, Article
23 June 2020 -
Investor-Corporate Engagement, Governance | Article
30 April 2020 - Look after employees, customers, and suppliers; adopt a through-cycle mindset; and communicate transparently. Profits and dividends will come later if you make the right moves now.
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Report
15 April 2020 - While some companies take a “one share, one vote” approach to shareholder decision-making, others give disproportionate voting rights to founders or choose to offer multiple share classes, each with different voting power.
Investor-Corporate Engagement | In the News
14 April 2020 - With a growing list of companies suspending earnings guidance, FCLT Global CEO Sarah Keohane Williamson explains why quarterly guidance can be problematic.
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Article
11 April 2019 - When considering going public, private companies often express concern about the perceived short-term fixation of public markets. In response, some choose to stay out of the public markets – to the detriment of our overall economic health. But other companies address this concern by issuing multiple classes of shares, each with different voting rights. Common practice is to assign more voting rights to one class of stock than the other, with the superior voting rights going to founders or other insiders. Issuing companies say that they take...
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Report
21 February 2019 - Roadmaps have a proven record at leading companies, and evidence suggests that the majority of investors (especially long-term investors) prefer this approach. By focusing on key elements of performance such as competitive advantages, long-term objectives, and a strategic plan matched with clear capital allocation priorities, companies can build buy-in among long-term investors who support a focus on long-term value creation. Survey after survey indicates that investors prefer forward-looking, long-term guidance around a company’s strategy and expected performance. This paper, which represents the collective effort and experience...
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Toolkit
21 February 2019 - Benefits of a long-term roadmap: Gives existing shareholders what they want Attracts long-term investors by using long-term language Acts as a deterrent or buffer against activist attacks More accurately shapes a company’s valuation Provides strategic clarity to internal audiences
Investor-Corporate Engagement, Earnings Guidance | Article
9 October 2018 - A version of this post was first published on Harvard Law School Forum for Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. Thank you to our Member organizations who contributed to the writing of this article. By now, most business-watchers have seen the president’s tweet asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to study the requirement that US public companies release earnings quarterly. With this message, President Trump has focused attention on the short-term mentality that too often characterizes American business. The tweet, which followed his discussion with Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi about...
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Article
13 April 2018 - Spring is in the air, baseball has begun here at FCLTGlobal headquarters in Boston, and the public company earnings reporting season is upon us – thus begins that familiar, yet often tedious, quarterly dance done by companies and the analysts that cover them. The quarterly earnings call looms large on most corporate calendars, regularly consuming significant amounts of time to prepare, but are investors and companies making the best use of this venue for regular interaction? Many of the most commonly asked questions on earnings conference...
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Press Release
24 October 2017 - Boston, MA, October 24, 2017– FCLTGlobal, a not-for-profit organization that works to encourage a longer-term focus in business and investment decision-making, today published a report, Moving Beyond Quarterly Guidance: A Relic of the Past, calling into question the need for quarterly guidance to shareholders and investors. The report debunks long-held industry misconceptions about the importance of short-term earnings guidance, and argues that companies and investors should move away from this practice. Key findings from the report show: Providing quarterly forward earnings guidance (as distinct from quarterly reporting) is increasingly on a downward...
Investor-Corporate Engagement, Earnings Guidance | Report
23 October 2017 - Since 2005, research has consistently found that the vast majority of corporate executives think that short-term pressure is growing, that it is changing their business decisions, and that those changes are destroying value. One effective way that corporations are combating this phenomenon is by moving away from quarterly earnings per share (EPS) guidance and instead providing investors with a long-term road map focused on the fundamental economic drivers of the business tied to management’s outlook on critical key performance indicators (KPIs). As we highlighted in our...
Investor-Corporate Engagement | Report
16 March 2015 - Short-term behavior is becoming the norm in modern capital markets. Rather than pursuing and communicating long-term strategies, many public companies dedicate significant resources to meeting quarterly earnings guidance and communicating their performance relative to this guidance. This focus on short-term actions and communications seems counterproductive, considering that more than 50% of a typical company’s value is created by activities that will take place three or more years in the future. Research shows that the current emphasis on achieving short-term earnings targets leads to value destroying behaviours: One...