For the fourth straight quarter, several of the biggest US banks are reporting earnings on the same day, setting up a situation that overwhelms analysts covering the industry.
In a report, Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg noted that 10 of the 19 largest banks by market value are reporting results on just two days next month, on July 14 and 21. “Seems excessive,” he wrote.
Big bank earnings days can be a hectic and frazzled experience for analysts, who must interpret thick documents packed with financial arcana, juggle multiple conference calls with management teams, investor relations departments and clients, and meet hard deadlines to distribute a final take on whether stocks remain a buy, hold or sell.
They arrive at work before 7am to prepare for the news and often stay late into the evening working on their reports and financial models. On July 14, analysts expect to pore through more than 200 pages of press releases, slide decks and financial supplements released by JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, PNC Financial Services Group and First Republic Bank before the market opens.
JPMorgan is due to start a conference call with analysts at 1330 GMT. That will be followed by PNC Financial Services Group’s call beginning at 9:30am, Wells Fargo at 10am and Citigroup at 11:30am. Each call typically lasts an hour or more.
Until recently, it was rare to see more than two of the six biggest lenders report results on the same day.
Bank representatives said earnings are determined by a combination of meeting dates for boards of directors, holidays and travel schedules of CEOs, and that banks do not coordinate with each other on scheduling.
Some banks, including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, recently began setting earnings dates years in advance, though most still schedule the event a few months ahead of time.