IR Monitor – 7 May 2025

In this week’s newsletter:

•  CEOs are giving up on guidance, suggests the Wall Street Journal. A new poll shows more than 80% of senior executives are worried about tariffs and other policy shifts
• What are the proxy advisors up to? Glass Lewis clears up policy confusion 
• The IR industry has competition from an unexpected quarter: The Times on the unqualified TikTokkers transforming how young people invest
• ESG: Over or in it for the long haul? An IR Magazine debate
• Good riddance to Britain’s most over-hyped company: Perhaps there’s an inverse relationship between the amount of meaningless spin to be found in a company’s float prospectus and how its shares subsequently perform, muses  The Telegraph 
• And finally … the Proxies 2024. Our occasional series on how not to conduct IR

This week’s news

CEOs are giving up on guidance

A new wave of major US and European companies are warning that the trade war’s unknowable course and consequences make it futile to forecast future performance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Last week, the business group Leadership Now Project and the Harris Poll conducted a survey with over 300 senior corporate executives, 84% reported feeling somewhat concerned or very concerned about the impacts of the current political and legal climates on their businesses. The volatile macroeconomic environment and shifting automotive duties has resulted in companies like GM, JetBlue and Volvo shelving their 2025 profit guidance.

Glass Lewis clears up policy confusion

Last week, news outlet Semafor published an article accusing proxy advisor Glass Lewis of a “political retreat” from its recommendations on issues that could be seen as politically contentious (such as gender balance, political donations and carbon emissions) partly due to “heightened conservative backlash.”  In response, Glass Lewis has emailed a statement to its clients stating that these changes were not politically motivated and that it will continue to issue vote recommendations that promote good governance, including diversity and progressive shareholder rights, while also conceding some need to adapt to the changing landscape. 

The IR industry has competition from an unexpected quarter – The Times

“Finfluencers” have become a popular group of content creators on social media, posting financial content that often gives tips and advice to online audiences on investment decisions. These accounts are most popular among young retail investors who often cannot afford regulated financial advice. The Times reports, in a recent survey, that the FCA found 85% of investors aged between 18 – 40 claimed social media platforms were “highly influential” in their investment decisions. However, these influencers are not regulated and present a risk to both new investors and company share prices as followers look to act on short-term speculations. IR teams will arguably need to adapt to these creators who are indirectly diversifying their retail investor base, by communicating more effectively with new audiences of investors to stay ahead of finfluencers.  

ESG: Over or in it for the long haul?

At the 2025 IR Impact Forum in Canada, sustainability expert Prabh Banga (VP of sustainability at Aecon Group) and economist Jack Mintz (President’s Fellow of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary) took to the stage to debate the future of ESG, exploring its evolving role amid growing political and investor scrutiny. While Banga framed ESG as a strategic risk-management and value-creation tool, Mintz expressed scepticism about its financial impact, noting that many ESG initiatives show limited correlation with improved shareholder returns. Both agreed on the critical importance of ‘materiality’, meaning that ESG efforts must focus on the issues most relevant to a company’s unique business goals and operations. Banga advocated for standardisation akin to financial reporting for quantifiable areas like emissions. Mintz, however, warned that many social and governance metrics are too fluid to be rigidly codified as they are shaped by shifting cultural and political norms – with changing attitudes towards defence spending and DEI being prime examples. 

Good riddance to Britain’s most-overhyped company – The Telegraph

Deliveroo’s anticipated exit from the London Stock Exchange via a takeover by US rival DoorDash reflects the broader malaise afflicting the UK’s capital markets, The Telegraph writes. Once hailed as a homegrown tech champion, the company’s trajectory since its 2021 IPO has become a tale of the City’s difficulties in attracting and retaining quality listings. Floating at a £7.5bn valuation in 2021, Deliveroo saw nearly £2bn in market cap erased on day one, which marked one of London’s worst debuts in decades. Whilst it was positioned as a disruptive force in food delivery, Deliveroo’s fundamentals told a different story: misjudged investor hype, a sharp fall in demand after the easing of COVID lockdown restrictions, and questionable long-term economics. Deliveroo’s fall reinforces concerns around London’s listing environment, where investor confidence has been increasingly damaged by over-promising, under-delivering offerings.  

And finally… the Proxies 2024

As AGM season gets underway, FT Alphaville revisits the standout winners of its annual ‘Proxies’, a tongue-in-cheek awards celebration of executive perks and privileges.  Highlights from the year include $240k in private jet use, $2.2m in relocation costs, $10.4m in CEO security, ‘club memberships’ as a company expense and even individually assigned boats for C-suite attendees of a company event. For investors, the piece offers a sharp reminder of the disconnect that can exist between executive compensation & perks and meaningful shareholder value. For the rest of us, the Proxies is a rather amusing snapshot of the art (and graft) of executive excess.