IR Magazine US Awards – 2024

The 28th Annual IR Magazine Awards was held in New York City a few weeks ago. As we’ve done in the past, we want to discuss the results since we think they might offer some lessons for IR teams.

The IR Magazine US Awards recognize exceptional IR practices in publicly listed companies. The process of choosing the winners consists of three phases:

Phase 1: once the entry deadline has passed, an IR Magazine editorial team reviews all submissions and produces a shortlist of the best companies and individuals.

Phase 2: the shortlist is shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts and professionals. The judges review each candidate and select their top two picks per category.

Phase 3: the judging panel discusses, debates, and selects the list of winners from the candidates who advanced to the final stage.

So, who was part of these short lists? And who were the winners this year? We will focus on what we believe are 3 key prizes and provide some comments on why we think the companies won (based on publicly available materials alone).

Best overall Investor Relations – Large caps

Short list: Boston Scientific, Deere & Co, Moody’s, NVIDIA Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Zscaler

Winner: Zscaler

Our take… Zscaler is in the very hot tech space, but it is not only the industry that shines when you look through their materials. With a very easy to navigate IR website, and key data on the landing page, they seem to know how to position their message quite well. They provide factsheets, FAQs, investor kits, quarterly presentations, and even industry reports. Their ESG section is friendly and interactive with most information any investment manager would need. If they were our clients, we would suggest adding a direct email address for their IR team on the website, so more investors would reach out.

Best ESG reporting –  Large caps

Short list: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Nasdaq, Sempra, and The Coca-Cola Company
Winner: Hilton Worldwide Holdings

Our take…Hilton’s latest report is filled with beautiful imagery (one of the benefits of being a hotelier), but it’s not random imagery, there is good storytelling behind. Their ESG KPIs are very visible, and their goals are easy to find and quite clear. They report SASB and GRI indicators, and their report has a limited assurance verification            opinion. If they were our clients, we would suggest GRI/SASB tagging throughout the report, as well as better disclosure of their climate analyses done following TCFD’s recommendations. But in general terms we like what we see.

Best IR website

Short list: ITT, Revvity, SAP, Valmont Industries, and Zscaler
Winner: Valmont Industries

Our take…Valmont’s website, once again, is easy to navigate and provides quite a lot of information that investors might need to make investment decisions. The investment thesis is quite clear from the first time you visit their website, and in depth information is easy to find. If they were our clients, we would suggest additional multimedia materials, and other easy to digest content (such as factsheets and FAQs).

We recommend going into the IR website and materials of all the winners to see how their IR materials compare to yours. At the very least, look at the winner in your industry below.

We believe that successful investor relations teams and materials hinge on clear, consistent communication and transparency. Teams must understand and articulate the company’s strategic vision, financial performance, and growth potential effectively. Responsiveness to investor inquiries and proactive outreach foster trust and engagement. Frequent interactions with the market can enhance accessibility and investor confidence, ensuring a well-informed and supportive shareholder base.

As you probably will notice from browsing these websites, high-quality IR materials should be visually engaging and easy to comprehend, highlighting key metrics and market positioning. If your company aims to elevate its IR game, reach out to us at Miranda IR for expert guidance.

Best in sector Awards

Communications – AT&T, DoorDash, T-Mobile US, Uber Technologies, Verizon Communications, and Zillow Group

Consumer discretionary – DraftKings, eBay, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Marriott International, Tractor Supply Company, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Consumer staples – Central Garden & Pet Co General Mills, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Target Corporation, and Walmart

Energy – Cheniere Energy, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Diamondback Energy, DMC Global, ExxonMobil, and Permian Resources

Financials – Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Regions Financial Corporation, and SoFi Technologies

Healthcare – Boston Scientific, Dexcom, Medtronic, Stryker, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and UnitedHealth Group

Industrials – Deere & Co, Eaton, General Electric, Ingersoll Rand, JB Hunt Transport Services, and Union Pacific Railroad

Materials – Corteva, Ecolab, Newmont Corporation, Owens Corning, and The Sherwin-Williams Company

Real Estate – American Tower Corporation, Boston Properties,
Camden Property Trust, COPT Defense Properties, Equinix, and Prologis

Technology – Arista Networks, CrowdStrike Holdings, Microsoft,
Moody’s, NVIDIA Corporation, and Zscaler

Utilities – CenterPoint Energy, CMS Energy Corporation, Exelon Corporation, ONE Gas, and
Xcel Energy