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To: Fundamentls who wrote (110)	2/28/1999 10:51:00 AM
From: nord	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 405

Internet Conference Calls: Earnings Info for Analysts--and You Investors who are disheartened by slowing earnings growth in Corporate America can find one reason to celebrate this earnings season: They have a better chance than ever of hearing what's going on directly from the companies in which they invest. That's because this has been the first quarter in which a significant number of companies have broadcast their earnings announcements and conference calls with analysts over the Internet. This has come about because Web technology is making it easier and cheaper for companies to broadcast the information, and because securities regulators are putting increasing pressure on companies to release information to Wall Street and the general public at the same time. "Internet broadcasts of conference calls are just beginning," says Lewis M. Thompson, president of the National Investor Relations Institute. "But they are going to catch on as companies get some experience and realize what a good way to communicate this is." Broadcasts of earnings conference calls may sound like just another whizzy new gimmick for a corporate Web site. But for investors who rely on timely information and follow stocks closely, it is a real step forward. Many companies still restrict private investors, and even the media, from as much as listening in on conference calls with analysts. "To the extent that [public] broadcasts are done more and more, it eliminates the special advantages that security analysts enjoy," says Samuel L. Hayes III, a finance professor at Harvard business school.In theory, companies don't divulge any information in conference calls with analysts that isn't in the public earnings release. But frequently, in answering analysts' questions, executives disclose information that is new to investors. Also, from hearing an executive's tone of voice, investors can pick up on subtle signals about management's conviction as to the company's prospects. Analysts are known to trade on information learned while the call is still going on. The Internet broadcasts give individual investors access to that same information at the same time. "BOOMING AREA." Although there are no official numbers, it is clear that more companies are adding the service. NASDAQ is beginning a pilot program in which all companies in its 100-stock index are being asked to broadcast their quarterly earnings conference calls on Broadcast.com (BCST). "It is a booming area of our business," says a Broadcast.com spokesperson. Vcall, a Web site that launched a year ago to provide such information to investors, says the number of conference calls it broadcasts has doubled every quarter, to 300 currently. "I don't see that trend slowing down, and it may even speed up," says Kelly Long, a vice-president at the company. PR Newswire just launched a similar service two weeks ago in conjunction with Visual Data, which produces Net-ready corporate video and audio releases.Large companies, mostly in technology fields, such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC), started offering these broadcasts about a year ago. Yahoo! (YHOO) broadcast its quarterly earnings announcement and conference call for the third time on Jan. 12 (it's still available for download), and 5,400 people tuned in. The broadcasts are improving as companies are allowing Internet listeners to send E-mail questions to executives or are simultaneously showing Internet viewers the same slide show presentation that analysts get to see. Clearly, large companies can reach many more shareholders through the Internet much less expensively than they could by adding extra lines to conference calls. And small companies, whose earnings announcements otherwise might not attract attention in the press, can use the Internet broadcasts to reach a core group of shareholders directly. For technology and Internet companies, this is an ideal way to reach their most enthusiastic shareholders, says Hayes. Case in point: During Cyberian Outpost's (COOL) earnings announcement last Dec. 22, President & CEO Darryl Peck extended a "special hello" to all the people who frequent the company's message boards on Silicon Investor and Yahoo!. "I know you're all listening," he said. ENJOYING THE SHOW There is plenty of room for the trend to grow. Of the 2,600 companies with representatives who are members of the National Investor Relations Institute, 83% conduct quarterly conference calls, and better than 90% have investor relations Web sites. Internet broadcasting is not expensive. PR Newswire's new service offers streaming audio over the Internet for $700 an hour. Live video for three hours with archiving for three months starts at $3,500. "I think public companies are going to have to do simultaneous broadcasts because they don't want to be accused of selective disclosure," says Randy Selman, president of Visual Data. Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt has spoken out frequently in an effort to stop companies from releasing material information to analysts before it is released to the public, and NASDAQ President Alfred R. Berkeley III made the same point when announcing the exchange's pilot program with Broadcast.com. "We would like to see Internet broadcasting become a standard corporate communications tool for public companies in the near future," he said. Ultimately, information gleaned from conference calls with analysts is only of use to short-term traders. "The markets are quite efficient in the long run," says Hayes. "So while you might be able to get an edge in making a purchase or sale at a little better price, it is unlikely it would make a very large difference in your rate of return." But long-term investors who closely follow companies they own will enjoy hearing the executives and analysts go at it. And as more online and day traders flood onto the Internet, the need to distribute information to the public and to Wall Street at the same time will only increase. Regards Norden