IR Monitor – 22 July 2026

In this week’s newsletter:

The stories that investor relations professionals need to read this week:

• How strategic IR can restore Singapore’s markets: FTI’s Justin Teh has the answer
• Craig Coben on the myth of independent Wall Street research: the case of SpaceX
• London Stock Exchange overhaul will ‘damage trust’, top investors warn
• Big Tech needs to justify AI spending, suggests Bloomberg, as investors dump stocks: earnings reports from the big spenders, including Tesla and Alphabet, will be scoured for evidence that the investments are generating bigger returns
• Netflix falls as earnings forecast disappoints, CNBC reports: company says it will give fewer engagement updates following recent reports of a slowdown for this metric
• And finally… SEC flooded with complaints over plan to scrap quarterly earnings

This week’s news

How strategic IR can restore Singapore’s markets

While Singapore’s public markets have shown encouraging progress, many listed companies continue to trade at a discount to their intrinsic value. Justin Teh (Senior Director at FTI) argues that good performance alone is no longer enough for a company to stand out. The missing link is strategic storytelling.  By creating a compelling investment narrative, companies can bring their financial and operational performance to life, simplify complex business models and illustrate their growth potential. Teh outlines his top priorities: communicating longer-term strategy, translating the technical into layperson terms and staying loyal to one set of key messages.

The myth of independent research

In his latest piece, Craig Coben (Columnist for the FT) points out analysts from SpaceX’s underwriting banks were unanimous with their recommendations: the company is a buy, and the target price is headed to the moon (with one sell-side analyst forecasting a share price of $800, implying a market cap of $10 trillion). Independent research providers, by contrast, have been more cautious, and so have investors – at the time of writing, the SpaceX share price was down 44% since its all-time high. Coben is quick to point out, however, that the homogeneity is not evidence of overt interference by investment bankers & the flouting of the rules Eliot Spitzer codified to keep sell-side research independent. The issue is the universe in which analysts operate: being too critical means less access to management and fewer exciting deals. Investors know this and make their decisions accordingly, using analyst notes only as supplementary information.

London Stock Exchange overhaul will ‘damage trust’, top investors warn

According to City AM, the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) has sent a letter to Dame Julia Hoggett (CEO at London Stock Exchange) warning that the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) proposed overhaul of AIM’s governance would do more harm than good to its constituents. The proposed reforms include removing the “comply or explain” rules, making it easier to list. In theory, easing restrictions and lightening paperwork is helpful but the QCA says, “any perception that governance expectations on AIM are being materially weakened could further diminish institutional investor interest in the market.” That said, a spokesperson for the LSE said 70% of respondents to the proposal have been supportive. 

Big Tech needs to justify AI spending

Bloomberg writes that AI has shifted from a growth driver to a credibility test for the world’s largest technology companies. There used to be an exuberance around companies investing in AI – and a terrible sense of FOMO. However, the ROI has been difficult to pinpoint and investors are becoming more sceptical of AI spending. As Jake Seltz (Portfolio Manager at Allspring Global Investments) said, investors are getting to the point where they’re uncomfortable with how much money is being spent and they’re worried about a bubble.” For IROs, this means dialling back the AI messaging or – even better – pulling out proof points that show real AI ROI.   

Netflix falls: company says it will give fewer engagement updates

Netflix’s latest results are a reminder that meeting market expectations is not enough to satisfy investors. CNBC highlights that Netflix delivered steady revenue growth; however, its shares still fell because revenue guidance disappointed (it increased the floor but lowered the ceiling). The market reaction also showed how difficult it is for companies to strike the right balance when it comes to transparency. IROs want to help the buy-side and sell-side develop accurate models; however, they still need to give themselves some wiggle room to help weather the unpredictable. This is an issue that IROs grapple with on a regular basis. A case in point is Netflix’s “What We Watched” report, which gave investors and analysts context and confidence in the company’s appeal by detailing what its customers watched and how much. Unfortunately, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and Netflix has decided to publish the report on a yearly basis instead of every six months and outside results so the report doesn’t detract from the company’s financial performance.  

And finally … SEC flooded with complaints over plan to scrap quarterly earnings

According to The Wall Street Journal, the US SEC has proposed letting companies publish financial results every six months instead of on a quarterly basis. It received more than 200,000 responses saying that this would harm investors because of the lack of transparency. Supporters have argued getting rid of the rule won’t matter because companies would still meet their fiduciary duties to shareholders by disclosing material developments outside of scheduled results. No quarterly reporting also means more time spent focused on running the company and not being held hostage by short three-month timeframes. But would companies take advantage of the new rule? Here in the UK, we’ve had the choice since 2013 but a number of publicly listed companies still report quarterly because that’s what their shareholders want.