Company visit questions - Recently started career in boutique
Hi guys, I recently started my career in ER in a boutique and my boss said he has arranged a company visit to a "personal care and foods/drinks products company". He then asked me to prepare some SMART questions for the company to help us get a better idea of their upcoming financial performance.
This is my first time visiting and I dont want to screw it up but I feel dumb if I just ask him what are SMART questions...
Can anybody in the industry help me out with some examples that will make me less embarassing when I'm visiting the company?
thanks wso!!
PM me further info, i.e the name of the company you are visiting. I used to cover the consumer staples space, may be one of my companies.
OP don't tell Ray sht, if you are in any way doing an IB deal for them you are donezo
He works in ER, so his intel on the IBD would be limited to begin with and the fact that he just started his career here leads me to believe his exposure will be de mimimis at best. Since I could possible have some knowledge of this company I could probably help him with posing thoughtful questions, good looking out though.
Listen to recent conference calls and listen to the questions that analysts ask. Think about the important drivers of the business - what metrics drives top line growth, what metrics affect margins, etc. - and think about how the current economic environment and industry trends are affecting these.
Company visit questions - Recently started my career (Originally Posted: 04/12/2011)
Hi guys, I recently started my career in ER in a boutique and my boss said he has arranged a company visit to a "personal care and foods/drinks products company". He then asked me to prepare some SMART questions for the company to help us get a better idea of their upcoming financial performance.
This is my first time visiting and I dont want to screw it up but I feel dumb if I just ask him what are SMART questions...
Can anybody in the industry help me out with some examples that will make me less embarassing when I'm visiting the company?
thanks wso!!
What is your exposure to commodity prices?
Do you expect to pass it on to your consumer?
What is your end-market? Discount or luxury?
Where are you seeing the most strength? Where are you seeing the most weakness?
Are the growth drivers for 2011 and beyond?
What kind of incremental margins can you deliver?
Company specific questions are smart, especially if they can relate to other covered companies. Your description is too vague for me to help me. But you can help yourself: what are the hot button issues within the relevant space?
Ask them about the M&A environment moving forward, how do they imagine themselves in that arena. On the M&A question what is their criteria for acquisitions (maybe they covered this in a call). Is consolidation a recent trend in this industry? How is the competitive landscape, is it highly fragmented and due for some consolidation.
Here's some general advice in this situation. Assuming the company is public, pull the last 3-4 earnings transcripts and review them. It'll get you up to speed on the company. Also, you can get a feel for what the analysts are interested in discussing during the Q&A portion. Look for any transcripts of conferences as well. I haven't worked in the consumer space so I can't help you out with specific questions, but that's generally what I do when I'm about to meet with a new company in my space that I'm unfamiliar with. Hope that helps.
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