How many conference calls do you listen to?

[ragnarisapirate]

I was reading the below link, and started to openly wonder over the amount that other managers/investors listen to.

 

Since I only own parts of super small companies, I rarely listen to them...

 

 

[goldendad]

Only time I *listen* now is if seekingalpha doesn't have a transcript.  It is so much faster to read.

 

Also depends on the portfolio composition.  I don't bother listening to the big blue-chip ones as I don't get anything out of a J&J call.  Plus, I've heard so much puffery and flat-out lies from cheerleader CEO's on calls, that I heavily discount their value.  I put much more weight on the content of the 10-Ks and 10-Qs.

[Parsad]

I listen to maybe 2 or 3 every quarter.  Not much!  The financials really tell you everything you need to know as an investor.  The conference calls just give color on the managers.  Cheers!

[Myth465]

I like calls alot. I prefer to listen to them while doing routine things like cooking or folding cloths. I listen for the "color" though my biggest loss came from listening to Management on a call.

[ExpectedValue]

Like Myth, I also like to listen to a lot of CCs or read the transcripts while doing something else.

 

To me, the Q&A part of a CC is very helpful when you are studying new industries. You can hone in on the metrics that analysts are looking at and figure out what drives a certain business.

 

FCF is great and all but ultimately, certain businesses trade on certain metrics. A bank or insurance company is going to trade based on earnings and book value but an operator of skilled nursing facilities will trade  on beds/occupancies and on an EBITDA or EBITDAR basis. So it's hard to just know that without diving into the call and finding out what analysts are asking.

[bttmline]

do yourself a favor and print the transcripts from seekingalpha.com. Prob takes 5-10 minutes tops to read vs 45 minutes on a call. Over the last year or two I read a lot of them as it qives great insight into metrics on specific industries as mentioned. I agree with you guys that I really like focusing on the q&a.