CEOs are using earnings calls as talk therapy.
Hudson Labs has pulled together a list of the most stressed-out CEOs around the world, putting an AI twist on the practice of combing through earnings reports for signals on where the global economy is heading.
The firm’s analysis filtered out explicit mentions of “stress” and instead combed transcripts for more coded language: “disappointment,” “delays,” the agency-less “out of our control,” and the hilariously deflective “mistakes were made.”
Norwegian Cruise Line’s John Chidsey is worried the Iran war is going to make it more expensive to move people and ships around; Daniel Florness of Fastenal, which makes screws, tape, and other construction materials, is stressed about high prices. Builders FirstSource CEO Peter Jackson cited “rumors of [customers and rivals] not being able to pay bills.”
Equity research analysts have long tracked mentions of certain phrases to try and divine how corporate America is feeling, but AI supercharges the process to go deeper into that sentiment.