When I prepared my paper for the Investor Relations section of the Institute for Public Relations' Essential Knowledge Project, I used Apple's CEO Steve Jobs as an example to show the importance of non-financial information in communications with investors.
Occasionally I hear comments from people who have CPA or CFA after their names: "Investor relations? It is a financial function. It has nothing to do with public relations, communication or marketing" or something like that...
Well, I am not saying finances are not important, but they are not everything. The story the company tells, the quality of the management team, the research-&-development potential are as or sometimes more valuable than financial statements. Such non-financial information can send a stock skyrocketing into the sky or plunge it down into the ground. And, unfortunately, people from financial departments tend to overlook such non-financial information...
In the case of Apple, it was the health of Steve Jobs that plunged the stock prices down in the fall of 2008. In early January 2009 Apple admitted that they were not completely truthful about Steve Job's health and John Palizza summarized the potential implications of this case for investor relations.
But it was not the end of the story. Today the article at BNet suggested that perhaps not being honest about Steve Job's health is a violation of Reg. FD by Apple!
I think it is a material event, there is no doubt about that. Information about Apple CEO's health caused significant price fluctuations already. So, did the company do something illegal? Will we see an SEC investigation now with even more reprecautions for the Apple's stock price? The author of the BNet article concludes: "In the case of Apple, I think an investigation is certainly warranted."
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