Earnings Call Script: A Template and How to Write One

An earnings call script is the written version of everything said on the call before the first analyst question: the operator's introduction, the investor relations opening with its legal language, the CEO's remarks, the CFO's walk through the numbers, and the hand-off to Q&A. Most calls follow the same order, so most scripts can start from the same template.

This page gives you that template, one section at a time, and the reasons each part is there. It is written for small-cap teams, where the "IR department" is often the CFO, a controller and an outside agency, and the script has to be right the first time because there is nobody else to catch it.

What goes in an earnings call script

A complete script has seven parts, in this order:

1. Operator introduction. The conference provider welcomes participants, explains that lines are in listen-only mode, says the call is being recorded and hands over.
2. IR opening. Who is on the call, where the earnings release and slides are, the forward-looking statements caution and the non-GAAP notice.
3. CEO remarks. The story of the quarter: what happened, why, and what it means for the strategy.
4. CFO remarks. The financial detail: revenue, margins, expenses, earnings, cash, the balance sheet and guidance.
5. Transition to Q&A. One line from the last speaker, then the operator's instructions for joining the queue.
6. Q&A. Not scripted word for word, but backed by a prepared answer document (more on that below).
7. Closing remarks. A short close from the CEO, then the operator ends the call.

The prepared remarks (parts 2 to 4) are where the drafting work goes. Keep them short enough that most of the scheduled time is left for questions: analysts and investors join for the Q&A, and a script that runs long reads as a company that would rather not take them.

The template, section by section

Replace anything in braces with your own details. The legal wording in the IR opening is a starting point for your securities counsel, not a substitute for their review.

1. Operator introduction

The conference call provider usually supplies its own wording. Send them your company name, the speakers' names and titles, and who they hand over to, and ask to see their script in advance.

Good {morning/afternoon}, and welcome to the {Company} {fiscal quarter and year}
earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only
mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.
As a reminder, this call is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the call over to {Name}, {Title}. Please go ahead.

2. IR opening: welcome, safe harbor and non-GAAP

This section carries most of the legal weight. It names the speakers, points listeners to the release, and gives the two notices the rules expect.

Thank you, operator, and good {morning/afternoon}, everyone. With me today are
{CEO name}, our Chief Executive Officer, and {CFO name}, our Chief Financial
Officer.

Earlier {today/this afternoon} we issued a press release announcing our results
for the {fiscal quarter} ended {date}. The release, and the slides that
accompany this call, are available in the Investors section of our website at
{IR website address}. A replay of this call will be available there {for how long}.

Before we begin, please note that remarks made on this call, including
statements about our outlook, guidance, plans and expectations, are
forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those
projected in these forward-looking statements. Information about factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially is contained in {the risk
factors section of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q / name of document}. These statements speak only
as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them except as required
by law.

During the call we will also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures.
Reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures
are included in our earnings release, which is available on our website at
{address and location of the reconciliation}.

With that, I'll turn the call over to {CEO name}.

Why each line is there:

• The forward-looking statements caution. For an oral forward-looking statement, the statutory safe harbor asks for a statement that the remarks are forward-looking, that actual results might differ materially, and an oral statement that identifies a readily available written document containing the risk factors. Naming the specific document (usually the 10-K's risk factors) is what makes the third part work.
• Small caps, check this first. The statutory safe harbor is not available to every issuer: among others, it excludes forward-looking statements by issuers of penny stock and those made in connection with certain offerings. Ask counsel whether it applies to your company before you rely on it.
• The non-GAAP notice. Regulation G lets a company meet its reconciliation requirement for non-GAAP measures used on a call by having the reconciliation on its website when the measure is made public, and by saying on the call where it is. That is why the script gives the location rather than just "on our website."

3. CEO remarks

The CEO's section explains the quarter, not the spreadsheet. A structure that works for most companies:

Thank you, {IR name}, and thanks to everyone for joining us.

{One or two sentences: the headline of the quarter, in plain words.}

{What drove it: two or three specific operating developments, each tied to
a number that already appears in the earnings release.}

{Progress on the priorities you set out on earlier calls: what you said you
would do, and where it stands.}

{Anything investors should know about the market, customers or competition
that bears on the next few quarters.}

{One sentence on what comes next, without new numbers that are not in the
release or the guidance.}

I'll now hand over to {CFO name} to take you through the financials.

Two habits keep this section honest. Go back to what was said on last quarter's call and report on each commitment, including the ones that slipped; analysts will have last quarter's transcript open. And keep every figure the CEO cites identical to the release, down to the rounding.

4. CFO remarks

The CFO's section follows the order of the income statement and then the balance sheet, so listeners can follow along in the release:

Thank you, {CEO name}.

Revenue for the quarter was {amount}, {up/down} {change} compared with {the
prior-year quarter}. {What drove the change, by segment or product line.}

Gross margin was {figure}, compared with {prior period}. {Why it moved.}

Operating expenses were {amount}. {The main lines that changed and why.}

{GAAP net income/loss} was {amount}, or {amount} per share. {Non-GAAP measure,
labelled as non-GAAP}, was {amount}.

We ended the quarter with {cash and equivalents} and {debt}. Cash {provided by /
used in} operations was {amount}. {Share repurchases, financing activity or
covenants, if relevant.}

Turning to our outlook: {guidance, given exactly as worded in the release,
with the main assumptions behind it}.

With that, operator, we're ready to take questions.

When the CFO cites a non-GAAP measure, give the GAAP figure first or alongside it. The rule that the most directly comparable GAAP measure gets equal or greater prominence applies to the earnings release furnished on Form 8-K, and SEC staff count leading with the non-GAAP figure, or discussing it without the GAAP one, as giving it more prominence. A script that follows the same order stays consistent with the release it is read alongside.

5 and 6. Q&A transition and the Q&A document

The operator explains how to join the question queue, using the provider's own wording. You do not script answers word for word, but every speaker should have a Q&A document that lists:

• The questions you expect, grouped by topic, with an agreed answer to each.
• The questions you will not answer (customer names under NDA, guidance beyond what was issued, anything still under negotiation) and the line each speaker uses to decline.
• Every number that might come up, taken from the release, so nobody quotes a figure from memory.

For handling the hard questions themselves, see our piece on handling hostile analyst questions on small-cap earnings calls.

7. Closing remarks

Thank you all for your questions. {One sentence restating the headline of the
quarter.} {Upcoming investor conferences or events where management will
present, if they have been announced.} We look forward to speaking with you
again next quarter.

Then the operator closes the call and disconnects the lines.

Regulation FD and the script

Regulation FD prohibits selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to analysts and investors. Two practical consequences for the script:

• The call has to be public. Announce the date, time and access details in advance, open the call to anyone who wants to listen (a webcast or a public dial-in), and keep the replay available.
• The script should not go beyond the release. If a speaker adds something material on the call that is not in the earnings release, it is disclosed on the call itself, which is one reason the release, the script and the Q&A document are reviewed together.
• Furnish the release before the call starts. Item 2.02 of Form 8-K exempts the call from a separate furnishing only if its conditions are met, among them that the release was furnished first and the call held within 48 hours of it, the call was announced in advance with its access details, and any new financial information from the call is on the website (an archived webcast counts). SEC staff interpretations say a call held before the release is furnished needs its own 8-K exhibit, such as a transcript or the slides. Information that comes out unexpectedly in Q&A has to be posted on the website promptly afterwards.

How to prepare the script, week by week

There is no single correct timeline, but most small-cap teams work backwards from the call date along these lines:

• Two to three weeks out: pull last quarter's script and transcript, list the commitments made on it, and draft the outline with the CEO and CFO.
• When the numbers are close to final: fill in the CFO section from the draft release, then the CEO section.
• Before the audit committee or disclosure committee review: circulate the release, the script and the Q&A document together, so counsel and auditors review the same numbers once.
• The final days: read the script aloud with a timer, rehearse the Q&A with someone playing a skeptical analyst, and lock the text.
• After the call: compare the transcript with the script, note any questions you did not expect, and start next quarter's Q&A document with them.

Using AI to draft an earnings call script

AI tools are good at the first draft of the predictable parts: turning the earnings release into a CFO walk-through, checking that every figure in the script matches the release, and listing the questions analysts asked on prior calls. They need the same controls as any other drafting help:

• Before results are public, the release and the draft script are material nonpublic information. Use only tools your company has approved for that kind of data.
• Every number a tool writes must be checked against the release and the financial statements, by a person.
• The legal language in the IR opening comes from counsel, not from a model.

Our guide to AI tools for drafting 8-K current reports and press releases covers the same workflow for the release itself.

Frequently asked questions

How long should an earnings call script be?

Long enough to cover the quarter and the outlook, and short enough to leave most of the call for questions. Time the prepared remarks by reading them aloud; that is the only measure that matters on the day.

Who writes the earnings call script?

At most small caps the CFO or the head of IR drafts it, often with an outside IR agency, and the CEO rewrites their own section in their own words. Securities counsel reviews the forward-looking statements and non-GAAP language, and the disclosure committee or audit committee reviews the whole script alongside the release.

Should we publish the script?

Some companies post their prepared remarks on the IR website after the call, and some furnish them with the earnings release on Form 8-K. It is a choice, not a requirement; check with counsel how your company handles it, and keep the practice consistent from quarter to quarter.

Does a company without an IR officer need a different script?

The structure is the same. The CFO or the outside IR agency usually reads the opening and the safe harbor, and the CEO and CFO share the rest. For more on running IR with a small team, see our coverage of small-cap IR strategy.