Listening to multiple earnings call a day during ES and losing attention. What to do?
I listen to 2-3 earnings call a day during earnings season in my sector and honestly find myself too many times just losing attention. I initially thought it was because of longer hours but I've gotten better at managing my hours and I am still struggling to take notes on these earnings calls. Sometime I end up getting distracted by all the sell-side emails coming through, sometimes I just start scrolling Twitter. What's the best way to go about this?
Just to be clear this isn't all earnings call but still enough that I end up having to go back and re-read transcripts to make sure I didn't miss anything.
why not read them? you can read faster than you can listen + you can annotate
Because my PM is up my a** about why the stock is moving up or down after hours? Literally one comment can change the A/H move in my industry
Why is that being an a**? If the stock is moving it means it's tradeable, and based on the real-time info coming from the call, a PM might have a decision to make on buying or selling the stock. If you don't understand the urgency of that, maybe you don't get what the job is about?
If you're zoning out during calls, it's likely because you're not interested. If you're not interested the call lacks context/relevance. If it lacks context/relevance it's because you haven't done proper pre-work and to know what answers to anticipate/look out for that confirms/disproves your thesis.
When you're hunting for specific answers that could move the stock, these calls should be viewed as "game time", not a box check. All my analysts need to update the team live on the chat from calls as it pertains to comments/tone on outlook and stock sensitive drivers that will drive revisions.
Barring that... If that doesn't work, I'd pull you aside for a chat to give some pointers on how to maintain elite level focus:
I think you nailed it, I'm probably not doing enough pre-work. That's unfortunately driven by the sheer number of names I cover (structural issue with the fund) but I'll try to spend more time doing pre-game and see how it goes. Thanks
if you're not involved though, it's not a game.
Extremely wrong since 1) prepared remarks is useless if posted and you get most of that from previews already so not much news and 2) a lot of companies (at least names I look at) bump around analysts questions with useless answers so it was infuriating to listen to and even more or so when you read the transcript trying to decipher if they ever said something important (they did not)
This explains why top PMs fight over analysts who excel at not listening to calls, you mediocre lazy bum.
1) Prep remarks can at times provide commercial color that's not written in the statement. It's situational. 2) You've confused yourself to believe that finding nothing is the same as not missing anything. 3) "it was infuriating". Fk your feelings. What you find infuriating is irrelevant and of no one's concern.
Your next innovative technique could be reading earnings releases with your eyes closed.
Actual image of OP
real talk though, we should end companies re-reading the literal earnings release for the first part of the call. Feels like a complete waste of time. "I will now turn it over to the CFO to dictate out all the numbers you already read!"
And the customer case studies. Nobody cares! If it mattered, you would’ve put it in a press release
try being a generalist 🙃
Force yourself to take notes
Hurts more than helps to be honest, because I don't type nearly as fast as they talk and I miss something important.
Take adderall
I get what you're saying... You could try live transcripts (there are companies that do it far better than BBG, but they're also not perfect ... E.g., Aiera).
And what someone else has already said: Force yourself to take notes. It's truly dumb and unfulfilling monkey work, but the only way for me to stay focused.
When you take notes, do you try to jot everything down? or just jot down when they say something useful. Case in point, so many CEOs go on and on about some random BS promotional stuff about their company at the start of every earnings call.
Tbh I try to write down as much as possible. It's less about the actual notes and more about that you're forced to keep listening.
Pursue another exit. HF is not a good career.
Your answer becomes more helpful if you substantiate it.
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