Amid constantly evolving macroeconomic dynamics and shifting investor sentiment, publicly traded companies face a pivotal choice: when and how to tell their long-term growth story. An investor day is a defining moment to do just that.
As such, the stakes for executing a successful investor day has never been higher. That’s why Edelman Smithfield recently hosted its Investor Day Bootcamp, a half-day event bringing together experts in capital markets, investor relations, and communications to unpack what it takes to tell a powerful growth story, reset valuation, and galvanize investors and other key stakeholders.
Speakers offered practical advice on what separates high-impact investor days from the rest. Below, we’ve distilled the key takeaways and highlights from our event.
- Host an Investor Day When There’s a Catalyst
- Anchor the event to a meaningful corporate moment. As our panelists emphasized, timing is everything. An investor day resonates most when it coincides with a clear catalyst - new leadership, strategic shift, major portfolio action, or business or financial complexity that requires unpacking.
- Solicit Investor Feedback to Inform Messaging and Agenda
- Ask for feedback before and after. Many companies conduct pre-event perception studies to validate investor priorities and inform the agenda and messaging. Panelists also advised that a post-event survey to test message absorption, credibility, and clarity is helpful.
- Acknowledge the Macro and Own What You Can Control
- Don’t ignore external uncertainty. Investors expect companies to confront macroeconomic headwinds - interest rates, inflation, regulation, or geopolitical shifts - head-on at investor day.
- Frame, don’t forecast. The goal isn’t to predict the cycle, but instead to frame how the business performs through it: historical resilience, cost levers, pricing power, and demand durability. When leaders contextualize challenges and demonstrate agility under pressure, it signals competence and earns long-term investor trust.
- Own what you can control. Equally important is to distinguish what is in your control (e.g., operational efficiency, diversification, balance sheet strength) from forces that you cannot manage. Clearly separate structural strengths from factors outside your influence.
- Set Realistic, Credible Long-Term Guidance
- Pick the right framework. If your model is predictable, a multi-year algorithm/range works (e.g., 3-year revenue/EBIT/EPS ranges). If end-markets are volatile or comparables matter, consider relative targets (e.g., top-quartile growth vs. peers) and reserve absolute targets for levers you control (e.g., margin expansion).
- Make it credible. Each speaker should supply the building blocks and reasons-to-believe in the long-term targets in their presentations, all of which should roll up to the CFO’s outlook summary.
- Reinforce quickly. Find moments after the Investor Day to build early proof points - within the next quarter or two - to prove momentum and strengthen trust.
- Make It Immersive; Show the Leaders and Proof Points Behind the Strategy
- Showcase the bench. Feature the leaders overseeing the key levers of the strategy (e.g., COO, CMO, business unit leads) to demonstrate real accountability for execution.
- Bring in external voices. Customer panels can effectively demonstrate innovation and service delivery/execution; however, their commentary should also underscore evolution and progress at the company, not just cheerlead.
- Give attendees an experience. Add demos, tours, and/or site walk throughs so investors and analysts can see your strategy and products in motion.
- Provide Opportunities for Meaningful Interaction with Management
- Investors value authentic, accessible engagement beyond the formal presentation. Opportunities for small-group discussions or one-on-one conversations help attendees assess management depth, credibility and the culture of the company. Ultimately, investors want to see how the team works together, not just rehearsed, prepared remarks.
- Structured networking works best. “Speed-dating” dinners or moderated small-table sessions allow broader access to leadership without bottlenecks.
- Integrate Communications Across Key Channels
- Plan the media strategy early. Begin outreach and relationship-building and briefings 3–6 months out. On the day itself, investors will be the priority, but there are creative ways to amplify your message and leverage media before and after the event. For example, publish key messages via press release before you present (and include guidance/targets if appropriate), use pre-taped broadcast for early coverage, and save live interviews for later in the day or the next day..
- Leverage digital channels to amplify key messages. Build a pre/during/post plan with LinkedIn as the primary platform. Drive audiences to a UTM-tagged microsite, use Account Based Marketing-style targeting to reach key investors, retarget site visitors, and track awareness and engagement.
- Bring employees along on the journey. Treat employees as a priority audience. Offer an internal livestream and on-site watch lounges for the investor day presentation; reinforce messages with digital signage and intranet recaps, and ensure the strategy is seen, understood, and shared.
For those who were not able to attend, a full replay of Edelman Smithfield’s Investor Day Bootcamp is available here.
By Nicole Harlowe, SVP, Edelman Smithfield