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Main Author: Matera, Giuseppe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15214
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author Matera, Giuseppe
author_facet Matera, Giuseppe
contents Economic behavior is shaped not only by quantitative information but also by the narratives through which such information is communicated and interpreted (Shiller, 2017). I show that narratives extracted from earnings calls significantly improve the prediction of both realized earnings and analyst expectations. To uncover the underlying mechanisms, I introduce a novel text-morphing methodology in which large language models generate counterfactual transcripts that systematically vary topical emphasis (the prevailing narrative) while holding quantitative content fixed. This framework allows me to precisely measure how analysts under- and over-react to specific narrative dimensions. The results reveal systematic biases: analysts over-react to sentiment (optimism) and under-react to narratives of risk and uncertainty. Overall, the analysis offers a granular perspective on the mechanisms of expectation formation through the competing narratives embedded in corporate communication.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_15214
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Corporate Earnings Calls and Analyst Beliefs
Matera, Giuseppe
General Finance
Computers and Society
Economic behavior is shaped not only by quantitative information but also by the narratives through which such information is communicated and interpreted (Shiller, 2017). I show that narratives extracted from earnings calls significantly improve the prediction of both realized earnings and analyst expectations. To uncover the underlying mechanisms, I introduce a novel text-morphing methodology in which large language models generate counterfactual transcripts that systematically vary topical emphasis (the prevailing narrative) while holding quantitative content fixed. This framework allows me to precisely measure how analysts under- and over-react to specific narrative dimensions. The results reveal systematic biases: analysts over-react to sentiment (optimism) and under-react to narratives of risk and uncertainty. Overall, the analysis offers a granular perspective on the mechanisms of expectation formation through the competing narratives embedded in corporate communication.
title Corporate Earnings Calls and Analyst Beliefs
topic General Finance
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15214