Investors have faced numerous uncertainties throughout 2025, including President Donald Trump ‘s tariffs, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, and the long-term viability of the AI trade. In a market chock full of unknowns, there is an unyielding rhythm on Wall Street. Each quarter, publicly traded companies, like clockwork, release earnings and hold analyst conference calls to discuss the results. To be sure, that cadence could go semi-annual if Trump has his way. He believes that less frequent reporting would free companies to think more long-term. Critics say that changing the current system would reduce transparency. Whether quarterly or twice a year, earnings reports are the main way investors get material information about the companies in which they hold shares. However, other events that companies hold or participate in are also valuable. Corporate governance expert Josh Crist said, “When you think about what a CEO or CFO does on a daily basis in a public company setting, I’d say about 60% is operational or strategic. Let’s say 10% is back office. There’s a 30% plus clip that is really focused on external behavior — external communication and storytelling.” Crist, co-managing partner of executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates, told CNBC in an interview that it can even be helpful when this “external communication and storytelling” goes beyond earnings. The Club puts these “other events” into four categories: (1) company-specific; (2) industry conferences; (3) investor days; and (4) annual shareholder meetings. Each is important because all of the 32 holdings in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust have them — and depending on management remarks, they can make or break confidence in their stocks. “The worst thing you can do is keep things from people. The last thing [investors] want is a surprise. If you can avoid surprises, clearly dependent upon what that surprise looks like, then you’re going to be just fine,” Crist said. “How do you avoid surprises? It’s being proactive. It’s proactive communication.” He continued, “All of that dialogue goes towards [answering], ‘Are we positioning our company correctly?’ That is what impacts a stock’s price. That is what shareholders look for.” 1. Company events Outside of earnings season, for example, Club name Apple hosts elaborate product launches. The most recent was dubbed “Awe Dropping” by Apple. The company on Sept. 9 unveiled its iPhone 17 and 17 Pro lineup and the new ultra-thin iPhone Air. This annual fall event is when Apple typically unveils design changes and new features for iPhones. It gives Wall Street analysts and investors a look at whether these updates are material enough to drive an upgrade cycle for the company’s biggest money maker. Our initial takeaway this year was that the new devices and features were enough to make a splash. Additionally, Jim was quick to point out that iPhones, especially those released in recent years, hold their value extremely well. He said that trade-in prices, coupled with carrier incentives, make the iPhone 17s and the Air real bargains. Analysts finally come around to our way of thinking. ” You want to stay long. This could be the breakout moment,” Jim said two weeks after the launch. There are rumors that Apple might hold another product even this month. Another example of a pivotal event hosted by a company is Dreamforce. The annual Salesforce gathering of clients and shareholders showcases the enterprise software giant’s latest and greatest products and CEO Marc Benioff’s vision for the future. Last year, Benioff announced a revamped strategy for Agentforce , the Salesforce suite of AI chatbot tools. The updates from last year’s conference also led to a stock surge as Wall Street became more confident about Salesforce’s ability to capitalize on the nascent technology. In 2025, shares have floundered on investor concerns about how generative AI might disrupt the per-seat revenue models of software as a service (SaaS) companies like Salesforce. Dreamforce 2025 will take place from Oct. 14 to Oct. 16 in San Francisco. 2. Industry conferences Investors can tune into industry conferences. They are typically a great time to get mid-quarter updates or a read-through of how things are going more broadly. In early September, Wells Fargo stock jumped after CFO Mike Santomassimo spoke at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference. At the time, shareholders learned that Wells Fargo purchased $5.5 billion worth of stock quarter to date — the most in a single quarter this year. Santomassimo also said the bank is seeing “really good green shoots” in its efforts to go back on offense now that the Fed has removed its long-standing $1.95 trillion asset cap. “We started to change the company and really pivoted towards the businesses that we think have the best opportunity over the long run,” the CFO said on Sept. 9 at the conference. Santomassimo also said that credit cards would become a “meaningful contributor” to the bank’s bottom line within the next few years. Those comments were echoed by CEO Charlie Scharf in a CNBC interview the next day. While interviews of executives in the financial media are important, they did not make the list of four events because they are less formal and more ad hoc. 3. Investor days Then, there are investor days. These are generally hosted annually by company management teams and can give investors updated financial goals. CrowdStrike held its investor day after the market close on Sept. 17. The next day, the stock popped nearly 13% on remarks about a bullish long-term outlook. Management expects more upside to free cash flow margins and net new annual recurring revenue (ARR). What really excited investors was CEO George Kurtz looking out nearly a decade. In fiscal 2036, the company targeted $20 billion in ending ARR, a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from the $10 billion ARR goal for fiscal 2031. “This is an example of what you want to own,” Jim said during the Investing Club’s September Monthly Meeting . Jim reiterated his confidence in Kurtz’s ability to stay ahead of the curve. Jim also acknowledged that CrowdStrike stock is “never going to be cheap,” but argued that its high price-to-earnings multiple is warranted. In another example, DuPont and the company’s soon-to-be spun-off Qnity Electronics unit held investor days on Sept. 18, detailing how each sees its business going as independent firms. Qnity, which is more exciting as a pure play for the semiconductor industry, is expected to deliver mid-single-digit revenue growth on a percentage basis. Jim said Qnity is undervalued versus its peers, and the spin should unlock more value. The remaining DuPont, which includes a focus on health care and water, is targeting 8%-10% adjusted earnings-per-share CAGR through 2028. The electronics spin-off is set for Nov. 1. 4. Annual meetings Finally, we come to annual shareholder meetings when companies vote on investor proposals, executive pay compensation, and board-of-directors appointments. These gatherings typically include updates from senior leadership, along with question-and-answer sessions with investors. One of the most popular shareholder meetings each year — referred to as “Woodstock for Capitalists” — is held by Berkshire Hathaway . Thousands of investors flock to Omaha, Nebraska, to hear what legendary investor Warren Buffett has to say. The Q & A can last several hours. During this year’s meeting back in May, Buffett said he wanted Greg Abel to become the next CEO at the end of 2025. As for the Club portfolio goes, though, Disney has a storied history with its annual meetings. In April 2024, shareholders voted to re-elect the entertainment giant’s full board amid a monthslong proxy fight with Trian Partners, the activist hedge fund led by Nelson Peltz. Trian wanted to push out two Disney directors at the time, citing misdirected investments and the stock’s continued underperformance. In the end, however, Disney handed a stinging defeat to Peltz. Bottom line Overall, these four kinds of events allow investors to hear directly from management teams outside of the normally scheduled quarterly conference calls. These events outside earnings not only provide additional clarity on a company’s direction but also its financial health. After all, as Crist said, “It’s up to CEOs and CFOs first and foremost to make sure that they’re communicating correctly to shareholders [and] to the coverage base, so that the company is being seen in the correct light. [They need to make sure] that their stories are told correctly.” (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. 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