Investor Q&A brief for results follow-up

Nothing here is financial advice, and none of it replaces your own checks.

Build one internal Q&A brief from the earnings release, prepared remarks, call transcript and analyst questions. Use it after results to give investor relations, finance and executives the same sourced answer, or a clear route to the person who must provide one. This is for investor relations managers and finance leaders preparing post-results communications.

This is a communications and reporting workflow, not financial advice. Nothing in the brief replaces your own checks, approvals or judgement.

1. Set up the source pack

Create a folder for the reporting period. Save only the final, issued versions of these documents:

• 01 Earnings release
• 02 Prepared remarks
• 03 Call transcript
• 04 Analyst questions
• 05 Internal follow-up log

Record the publication date, document owner and file location against each item. If the call transcript is a vendor transcript, retain the audio or approved internal notes as the authority for disputed wording.

Use the model to extract and organise information, not to establish facts. Features, file handling and limits can vary, so check the current xAI documentation before loading materials.

Give the model the source pack and this instruction:

Create a list of investor questions and management answers from the supplied results materials. For every answer, cite the source document, page or section, and exact supporting wording. Mark any answer not directly supported as UNRESOLVED. Do not infer a forecast, recommendation, commitment or rationale.

Ask for a structured table, not a narrative memo. A table forces each proposed answer to carry its evidence.

2. Build the first Q&A register

Make the register in your usual controlled document or spreadsheet. Use one row per question, even where several analysts asked similar versions. You can later group duplicates, but keeping the original wording helps you see what investors actually focused on.

Use these fields:

Field	What to enter
Question ID	A stable label, such as Q-014
Investor question	The analyst's wording, cleaned only for obvious transcription errors
Topic	Revenue, margin, cash flow, capital allocation, guidance, segment, risk or governance
Proposed answer	A short answer using issued language where possible
Source	Document name plus page, section or transcript timestamp
Evidence	The exact sentence or a short quotation supporting the answer
Status	Supported, needs approval, unresolved or do not answer
Owner	Named person accountable for the next action
Deadline	Date and time for the action or decision

Start with questions asked on the call, then add questions likely to recur in follow-up emails or meetings. Look for subjects mentioned in prepared remarks but not explored in the call. These are often areas management expects to explain, but analysts have not yet tested.

3. Separate answer types before drafting

Do not treat every plausible response as suitable for external use. Classify each row before anyone edits the wording.

If the question is about	Use this response path	Do not do this
A reported figure	State the figure and cite the release or remarks	Recalculate or round it without checking the published presentation
A statement made on the call	Use the approved transcript wording and cite its location	Improve the wording by adding an explanation not given on the call
Guidance or outlook	Repeat the issued wording exactly, then obtain approval for any clarification	Create a new range, assumption or target
A non-public detail	Mark do not answer and route it to the appropriate internal reviewer	Fill the gap with context from internal discussion
An unclear analyst question	Quote the question and log a clarification task	Guess what the analyst meant

For questions that combine two topics, split the answer into labelled parts. For example, answer the reported margin movement separately from a question about future margin direction. This prevents a fact about the past being read as a statement about the future.

4. Draft answers in issued language

Ask the model to draft only from the evidence column. Give it a narrow task:

For each Supported row, write an investor-ready answer of no more than 90 words. Preserve all figures, dates, qualifiers and uncertainty from the evidence. Use plain language. Do not add interpretation, forward-looking statements, recommendations or facts not present in the sources. Return Question ID, proposed answer and source only.

Read the draft beside the cited text. Keep the answer short enough for an investor relations colleague to use in an email or meeting note. Where the source is already clear, a direct quotation with one connecting sentence is safer than a polished rewrite.

Keep internal commentary separate. If finance needs to explain a variance to an executive before deciding whether any response is appropriate, place that analysis in an internal note, not in the proposed investor answer.

5. Run a source and consistency review

Review the register with the person responsible for the relevant topic. Check the answer against every source named in its row, not just the first one found. The release, remarks and call can use different levels of detail without being inconsistent.

An answer is wrong, incomplete or unsafe when you see any of these signs:

• The source does not state the conclusion in the proposed answer.
• A number differs from the release, including its unit, period or basis of calculation.
• The answer removes a condition, uncertainty or exception stated by management.
• The wording implies a future commitment that was not issued publicly.
• Two rows give different explanations for the same movement.
• The owner cannot explain why a source supports the answer.

If any sign appears, change the status to needs approval or unresolved. Do not repair uncertainty by making the language broader.

6. Finish with a follow-up action list

Sort unresolved rows by urgency. Put the action list at the end of the brief so the document drives the next working session, rather than becoming a record of unanswered questions.

For each unresolved item, state:

1. The Question ID and the exact question.
2. What is missing, such as source confirmation, transcript correction or approval.
3. The proposed owner by name and function.
4. The deadline, including time zone where relevant.
5. The decision needed: approve wording, provide evidence, decline to answer, or seek clarification.

Use a deadline that is tied to the next investor contact, internal review or board communication. Avoid ASAP. It does not tell the owner what must happen before the response can be used.

When the process does not work

If the model produces uncited answers, stop using the draft and return to the source pack. Ask for the evidence table only, then draft from verified rows. If sources conflict, record both citations, mark the row unresolved and route it to the accountable finance or communications reviewer. If no approved answer can be supported before the deadline, use the agreed do not answer route and log the decision. Do not let a polished brief conceal an unanswered investor question.