Research Section: Consensus earnings estimates

What do IROs think of consensus estimates? Do they comment on them, publicly or privately? How many collate their own consensus? The global investment community judges stock price performance against analysts’ consensus earnings estimates so any small deviations from the consensus can affect valuation dramatically. That’s one reason IROs want published consensus estimates to be as accurate as possible. Based on the responses of more than 600 IR professionals worldwide, this report looks at how they engage with earnings estimates, their monitoring of them and subsequent views on accuracy and importance. It also focuses on companies’ production of their own consensus – with or without external help – and the challenges they face