Discourse Patterns in Corporate Earnings Calls

Abstract: Earnings call provides public companies with an opportunity to discuss their financial results for a specific period with analysts, investors, and the media. As a form of financial disclosure, it allows company executives to give insights into the company’s financial performance, discuss key metrics, address analyst questions, and outline future strategies or guidance using teleconference or webcast. Earnings calls are important for investors and analysts as they provide a direct line of communication from the company's management about its financial health, growth prospects, and overall strategy. The present study examined the discourse patterns in the earnings calls of selected companies, using texts from establishments quoted in Nigeria, howbeit, with varying levels of global sphere of operation. It seeks to investigate the typical discourse patterns observed in the earnings calls of these companies, focusing on how they structure their communication and the language strategies used. Accordingly, data for the study consist of transcribed texts of earnings calls of four companies, namely Wema Bank, Airtel, Coca-Cola and Jumia. The companies were randomly selected and drawn from different sectors for comparative purposes. The transcripts were extracted and analysed using the qualitative content analysis method. The findings indicated that while all corporations employ organised communication in their earnings calls, the emphases and depth vary based on the industries, perceived obstacles, global reach, and strategic priorities of the organisations. These variables also determine the language strategy employed.