More Than Just Numbers: Social Media and the Art of Results Communications
Download a PDF of this articleSocial Media Monitor 2026: An analysis of how DAX 40 companies utilise social media in their financial communications
Annual results are among the few moments in the corporate calendar when stakeholder attention converges. Investors, analysts, journalists and employees are all looking for clarity, context and credible leadership. Today, these expectations extend beyond formal disclosures and traditional media relations to the digital channels where organisations communicate in real time and in public. According to FTI Consulting’s survey of global institutional investors. 99% say effective digital communications are important for supporting investor relations and 71% say they prefer to invest in a company whose top management regularly communicates on social media.
Given this appetite, FTI Consulting has systematically analysed how effectively DAX 40 companies use social media in their financial communications to explore the deceptively simple question: how effectively are DAX 40 companies using social media to support their annual results communications?
The Social Media Monitor 2026 indicates that many of the companies are not yet utilising social media to their full strategic potential when it comes to their earnings communications. Not all CEOs and CFOs are posting earnings results via their LinkedIn accounts, corporate content is not tailored per platform and pure number crunching posts are prevalent, leaving out the essential context and perspective that investors are looking for. Companies that only share figures on earnings day may be visible, but that visibility is at the expense of building a narrative for their primary target groups.
Key insights
Effective financial communications on the day results are released do not stem from individual posts, but rather from coordinating corporate accounts, the CEO and CFO, as well as corporate influencers and paid ads. Within the DAX, only two out of 40 companies combine these elements into one unified communications effort.
LinkedIn has become the standard within the DAX. However, with the increased adoption of other channels, it is becoming clear that simply reposting the same content across multiple platforms, as 60% of the DAX 40 posting on multiple channels do, is not enough. Tailoring messages to the platform, format and target audience leads to 1.6 times more engagement on average.
The CEO serves as the key spokesperson on annual results day, with CEO posts generating around three times more engagement than posts from their respective company. Rather than simply presenting numbers, CEOs frame them within the context of strategy, outlook and personal perspective, turning results into an engaging leadership message.
The CFO is not a substitute for the CEO, but an additional key source of credibility in results communications. CFO communications are particularly effective when figures are not simply listed, but are explained in an accessible way and put into a professional context. Despite this opportunity, 35% of DAX CFOs have not posted about their company’s results.
Having a large number of followers does not necessarily ensure that results-related content reach the intended audience, not everyone who follows an account is a current or future investor. Using paid ads in relevant networks is one method to reach this target group, but only 5 DAX 40 companies have opted into this.. Employee advocacy and corporate influencers are another option that can be used to increase both reach and credibility across additional networks.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals.
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