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Strategic communication with investors: evidence from analyst/investor days
Dissertation   Open access

Strategic communication with investors: evidence from analyst/investor days

Jili Shen
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011494
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Abstract

This study examines Analyst/Investor Days (AI Days), voluntary disclosure events at which managers present detailed information about firm strategy, operations, and outlook to analysts and institutional investors. AI Days have become increasingly common, but we know little about why firms hold them, what they communicate, or whether they shape corporate governance outcomes. Using a sample of Russell 3000 firms from 2011 to 2024, I document three main findings. First, firms are more likely to host AI Days when valuation uncertainty is higher, institutional ownership is greater, and recent governance pressure has occurred. Second, applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to a hand-collected sample of S&P 500 AI Day transcripts, I show that AI Days devote substantially more attention than earnings calls to long-horizon topics such as technology development, competitive positioning, and ESG-related issues. After 2020, the content shifts toward digital, sustainability, and stakeholder themes. Third, AI Day hosting is associated with stronger shareholder support in director elections, a lower likelihood of Schedule 13D filings and tender offers, and a higher likelihood that shareholder proposals are subsequently withdrawn. The activism associations are more pronounced in firms with more dispersed institutional ownership and stronger recent stock performance. Overall, the evidence suggests that AI Days serve as a strategic communication tool that strengthens investor relations and mitigates shareholder activism.

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