ALC - Q4

As the IR community begins to focus on post-pandemic investor engagement, IROs are considering opportunities to have their companies participate in a variety of hybrid and potentially in-person events. Whether this is a sell-side sponsored conference, an investor NDR, or a company analyst/investor day, it provides an opportunity for interactions with investors who they are targeting and have identified as potentially being able to increase their existing share position or establish a new position. 

Creating a safe and inclusive workplace culture doesn’t just happen. It needs to be identified as a priority and fueled by a conscious effort to create a space where people can perform at their best because they feel supported, included, and appreciated. Not only does establishing a diverse and equitable workplace improve the happiness of employees, but it also allows for wider perspectives to be integrated when brainstorming, problem-solving, and developing new ideas. 

Investors are taking a growing interest in the environmental, social, and governance ESG policy of the companies they invest in, and rightly so. A recent Barron’s article indicated that one-third of U.S. assets are now managed according to sustainable principles. Investors expect that number to grow further under the Biden administration. Whilst over in Europe, more than half the money that flowed into European funds last year went into sustainable products, according to the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry. As a result, a record €1.12trn ($1.4trn) in investor cash has now been steered toward strategies that address environmental, social, and governance considerations, according to the study.

The Russell indices are some of the most widely followed for investment managers and index funds. The indices can range from mega-cap to microcap stocks and are tracked by more than $9 trillion in assets by investment managers. The Russell 3000 index includes the largest 3,000 U.S. public companies by market cap, which represents roughly 98% of all U.S. public companies and $47.7 trillion in equity (up 52% from 2020). Moving in or out of an index can have a big impact on a company’s shareholder base and potential stock performance. That is why many people pay close attention to the annual Russell Rebalance which is set to take place this Friday, June 25th. 

It is quite rare for a company’s stock price to double in a single day. Even more unusual is a doubling after being up over 1500% in the past 5 months. When that happens, a lot of investor and media attention is focused on the company. That has been the case for AMC and the company is really taking advantage of the trend in their own shares. The share price trend shown below has pushed their market cap from ~$1B at the start of the year to over $30B yesterday.

Even as businesses continue to re-open and consider what a post-pandemic world might look like, virtual conferences continue to be an attractive method of connecting with the capital markets. With global travel restrictions remaining in 2021, we continue to see a large volume of conferences and events executed virtually, and we don’t expect that to change in the immediate future. 

The first quarter of the year was an eventful one. With protestors rioting in the Capitol, a new administration taking over, and a world trying to recover from COVID-19, there was no shortage of news in Q1. One of the biggest headlines was the emergence of “meme” stocks after a frenzy of retail investors banded together to drive up prices of specific companies in mid-January and February. Through the use of Reddit and other social media platforms, retail investors were able to actively target some of the most highly shorted stocks in the markets to try to force a short squeeze on hedge funds.

Recent events have highlighted the fact that millions of retail investors are gathering online in chat forums like Reddit to discuss public companies every day and millions more are investing in the public markets for the first time. While the phenomenon of retail investors relations is nothing new, the dynamics may have changed. With this in mind, now is a good time for IR teams to refresh their digital investor relations strategy.

Markets have been off to a hot start to the year and are up over 11% through the end of April. In fact, this may be the best start to a presidential term since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Great Depression. Much of that has been driven by the optimism of a reopening economy, businesses bouncing back strongly, and earnings beating expectations. Earlier this month JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, noted in his annual letter that the U.S. economy will likely see a boom driven by excess savings, new stimulus measures, accommodative Fed Policy, a new infrastructure bill, and optimism around the end of the pandemic. All these factors build-up to what he called a potential Goldilocks economy moment with fast and sustained growth accompanied by gradually rising inflation and interest rates. As a result, all 11 sectors of the S&P 500 are in positive territory for the year with some of the more recently beat-up industries like Energy (+30%) and Financials (+22.7%) leading the way (as of 4/30).

Your website is the most trusted source of information for investors. In Brunswick Group’s 2021 Digital Investor Survey, results showed that company-provided investor relations websites emerged as the most used and most trusted sources of information for investors.