Gratitude: What companies have it?
Gratitude: What companies have it?
They say, in life what you appreciate, appreciates.
Is it true? If anything, having gratitude might at least make your mood better. Appreciating the clever beauty of flowers inside ice cubes at a restaurant, a really good cup of coffee, or the magic of a subway train arriving exactly as you get down the stairs—can make you feel, well, lucky.
I also wondered, do companies express gratitude? And are they companies that have done well? So I searched for two phrases: “lucky” and “grateful” in transcripts of earnings calls and attended conferences for all the S&P 500 companies over the last 20 years.
The following chart shows not only that mentions of gratitude overall are on the rise but, in particular, they have increased even more after a recession. The green dot reflects where this year is tracking so far.
I also made note of the “most grateful” companies each year—meaning who had the most mentions of these key words. Interestingly, both Meta and Berkshire Hathaway were often at the top starting in 2013. Prior to that, Booking Holdings was most often at the top.
These companies certainly have a lot to be thankful for. Their revenues, profitability, and share prices have consistently grown with time.
Of course, this is not a reason to invest in them, as there are many more factors to consider, including your own willingness and ability to take the risk of investing. But at least this data partially lives up to the hype.
Finally, with Nvidia reporting earnings after market close, and the biggest driver of returns for the S&P over the last year, I was curious where they landed with this analysis. They only had a couple of mentions of being “grateful” over the years. Though I am not surprised as the CEO himself has admitted to focusing on having “very low expectations,” because it means great resilience.
Results of Nvidia’s earnings today will be closely watched–not only by direct investors but also given its impact on the direction of the market overall. Their Q1 sales are expected to increase 243%. Opposite to Huang’s preference, expectations of earnings are high, which is usually not a positive. But it's in the realm of possibility, as they have beat them by 13% on average over the last year.