IR Monitor – 01 October 2025

In this week’s newsletter:

• Bloomberg reports major Investor Relations news from the Middle East: Saudi regulator to raise limit on foreign ownership of stocks
• London Stock Exchange turns up the volume on podcasts – a move “designed to shake up fusty world of investor relations” as the Financial Times puts it 
• The CEO pressure trifecta according to Forbes. Spoiler alert: investors add to pressure 
• Glass Lewis on what investors can learn from early trends in executive compensation in Australia
• The Times asks: What is the latest chief executive status symbol? A shrinking workforce. It may be a positive signal to investors for the near term only

• And finally … all bark and no bite? US firms struggle to explain tangible benefits of AI. FT analysis suggests “S&P 500 businesses are clearer about the risks than benefits” 

This week’s news

Saudi Arabia lifts limit on foreign ownership of stocks – Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia plans to rebuild its declining stock market by allowing foreign investors to hold majority shares in listed companies. According to the Capital Market Authority, the current 49% cap is expected to be lifted by the end of 2025, though this remains dependent on stakeholder & government approval. This regulatory change comes as the nation faces budget losses due to flat oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty and large state spending to achieve Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan. Bloomberg reports that this move aims to attract more foreign capital and boost the weighting of Saudi companies in MSCI Inc.’s benchmark indices, following the Tadawul index’s substantial drop of 9.6%, earning the nation the title of worst regional performance of the year. However, despite this, foreign investors are not deterred and continue to fund Saudi businesses, enticed by ongoing market reforms and low valuations. For Investor Relations officers, the potential easing of ownership limits could cause a considerable influx of international investors, offering an opportunity to diversify shareholder bases.  

LSEG turns up the volume on podcasts – Financial Times

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), in partnership with British start-up Auddy, is set to modernise the realm of investor relations by endorsing podcasts hosted by listed companies. According to the Financial Times, this novel development will revolutionise how shareholders obtain information. Campfire, Auddy’s audio service, will enable companies to communicate key shareholder updates and briefings in secure formats which cannot be illicitly redistributed through LSEG’s Marketplace platform. Andrew Craissati, CEO of Auddy, argues that the service will help leaders to share information more efficiently whilst making corporate narratives more engaging and convenient, addressing concerns from investors and activist funds who often see traditional reports as cumbersome and antiquated. Unlike other podcast platforms, Campfire can provide companies with detailed insights on their listeners, helping them to monitor engagement. For IR officers, this collaborative move provides a unique opportunity to reach investors more directly & possibly more effectively, by using a flexible, measurable audio platform that can bring corporate narratives to life.     

The CEO pressure cooker

CEOs exist under harsh exposure and scrutiny, resulting in persistent and multifaceted leadership pressures. Analysis by Forbes reveals that these pressures span three overlapping arenas: business management, societal expectations and family commitments. CEOs are responsible for guiding business outcomes, securing funding, protecting company image and ensuring employee welfare. Incorrectly handling any of these components could cause serious monetary and reputational setbacks. “A single misstep can lower investor confidence”. Beyond business metrics, the public are increasingly regarding CEOs as trusted figures in society, leading to an expectation for leaders to comment on broader social issues. This makes every statement, or lack thereof, crucial to corporate reputation and stakeholder confidence. Lastly, due to travel, long hours and constant crises, familial relationships start to break down. Research shows that stress related to deteriorating personal relationships can negatively affect organisational performance and market trust.

Trends in executive compensation

Shareholders in Australia remain willing to vote against executive pay packages to signal dissatisfaction with boards even though remuneration disputes have fallen in the first half of 2025 verses 2024. Despite fewer oppositions overall, dissent among Australian investors has intensified, with an average of 45% of votes cast against pay proposals. Glass Lewis find that companies which have boards with founders in influential roles are facing greater scrutiny than those without. It is posited that this may be due to the perception that founder-led companies are less receptive to investor feedback and this is how shareholders are fighting back. Regardless of the reason, the message is clear: Australian shareholders are watching closely how boards respond to their demands. The question for global boardrooms is whether this sentiment will travel to their country headquarters.   

The latest Chief Executive status symbol… a shrinking workforce 

The days when CEOs would brag about increasing headcount are gone, according to The Times. Instead, revenue per employee is the new buzzword that CEOs are eager to flag to investors. This new badge of honour has arisen from AI disrupting the traditional link between job creation and productivity growth as large language models are now able to outcompete human labour in productivity and price. Political shifts have also given firms cover for hiring freezes and heavier workloads; Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, for instance, laid off thousands of federal staff. Although companies becoming leaner and increasing productivity offers investors a positive signal in the short term, the longer-term view may not be quite as sunny. With less people working and earning, investors may start to question what effect this will have on the wider economy.   

And finally … all bark and no bite? US firms struggle to explain tangible benefits of AI 

Corporate America may be keen to talk about AI, but do they actually know what they are talking about? Using AI, the FT analysed hundreds of S&P 500 companies’ corporate filings & executive transcripts to see how firms are communicating about AI. In the last year, 374 firms mentioned AI with 87% of mentions being positive, despite offering little substance on AI’s tangible benefits. While tech firms have been able to verbalise AI’s commercial advantages, companies closer to consumer markets have struggled to describe AI’s concrete returns – leading Gartner to suggest that some firms are guided by ‘Fomo’ (Fear of missing out) rather than strategy. Contrastingly, risks of AI have been easier to describe, with over 50% of the S&P 500 citing cybersecurity as a major threat. Overall, this demonstrates the importance of not being swept up in corporate hype and highlights the perennial investor task: discerning fact from fiction.