MISSING OUT
Why Access to Real-Time Analyst Model Revisions Matters
How real-time analyst & consensus estimates revisions impact IROs
Investor relations officers (IROs) have been able to access high-level financial metrics, such as revenue or EPS, for years. However, it’s not been until recently that deeper level forecasts from sell-side analysts have been made available in any systematic way. These line items – operating metrics, segment or brand revenue, etc. – are the key metrics that drive company performance and are highly sought after by IROs.
Most who go to such trouble obtain them one of two ways:
- Collecting and ingesting analyst spreadsheet models directly
- Processing the analyst models through third-party service providers
The snapshot method
In both methods, IROs receive snapshots of analyst and consensus estimates typically one to two weeks after earnings, summarizing how analysts have revised their estimates based on the release of new earnings. They then receive a second snapshot one to two weeks prior to the next earnings announcement, reflecting analysts’ latest expectations for upcoming earnings.
Using Visible Alpha’s data, we wanted to understand when and how often estimates are revised during a fiscal quarter, and we discovered that there is a continuous flow of both analyst and consensus revisions that cannot be summarized by stale snapshots.
