What is an earnings call?
An earnings call is the conference call, usually held each quarter, where a public company's management presents results and outlook and answers analysts' questions. It follows the earnings release. The CEO and CFO walk through the quarter and any guidance, then take questions. The SEC's Regulation FD release names an open call, announced in advance and often webcast, as one acceptable way to share information with the public.
Why it matters to a revenue leader
Most of what the CEO and CFO say on the call traces back to the revenue team: bookings, backlog, pipeline, pricing, large wins and lost renewals. Analysts ask the same questions a board asks, in public, with a transcript that stays online. The CRO rarely speaks on the call, yet writes much of the script through the forecast and the commentary behind it. A deal described as signed on the call had better be signed.
Example
Fictitious numbersA public mechanical services company reports its quarter at 4:05 p.m. and holds its call at 4:30 p.m. An analyst asks why backlog grew 6% while revenue grew 9%. The CFO explains that two large projects moved from backlog into revenue faster than planned, using conversion data the sales team keeps. The answer is in the published transcript by the next morning.
"Which three numbers from my team will the CFO cite on the next earnings call, and can I defend each one?"
Sources
- What Is an Earnings Call? Understanding Key Financial Conferences checked 9 Oct 2026
- Selective Disclosure and Insider Trading (Regulation FD adopting release) checked 9 Oct 2026