5 Questions CEOs Are Asking IROs: Revealed in Q1 Earnings Calls

It’s the message every IRO recognizes: that unexpected Slack from your CEO, minutes before a critical investor call, “What are we facing here?” Behind this seemingly casual inquiry lies the expectation that you’re not just informed, you’ve already analyzed the situation and prepared strategic options. CEOs function in an environment where market shifts occur at the speed of news alerts, and investors measure credibility by your capacity to respond with immediate precision and confidence.

To stay ahead, IROs must anticipate these questions before the CEO hits “send.” The following analysis pulls together the most critical insights from recent earnings calls to equip you with precise, actionable answers. It highlights exactly what CEOs expect you to know now and outlines proactive steps to help you bring more than answers: strategic clarity backed by data.

1. Tariffs

“How will tariffs impact our margins and guidance?”

Tariffs have surged to the forefront of corporate strategy, mentioned in 43% of Q1 2025 earnings calls and marking a 190% spike from Q4 2024. This is no longer a theoretical risk: companies are now reporting direct and material financial impacts, including sharply higher input costs, urgent revisions to pricing models, and immediate pivots in manufacturing and sourcing strategies.

For IROs, tariffs have shifted from background geopolitical noise to a central balance sheet issue. CEOs now expect precise, data-backed answers on how tariff exposure is compressing margins, how these pressures are reflected in both current and forward guidance, and how pricing strategies are being recalibrated to protect profitability. They will also want real-time intelligence on how investors perceive the company’s preparedness versus peers, and whether the company is leading or lagging in its response.

What CEOs are likely to ask IROs:

• How will tariffs impact our margins and forward guidance: quantitatively and qualitatively?
• Are we ready to justify price adjustments to customers and explain them clearly to investors?
• What are our peers signaling about cost pass-through, operational shifts, or mitigation strategies?
• Have we been transparent enough about our exposure and tactical response, or do we risk being seen as reactive rather than proactive?

How IROs can stay prepared:

• Maintain real-time intelligence on tariff developments: Stay closely informed on the latest tariff announcements. Use trusted trade law updates and government sources to track evolving regulations and timelines.

• Understand and quantify financial impact: Collaborate with finance and operations teams to model tariff exposure at a granular level, including input cost increases, margin compression, and pricing adjustments. Be ready to explain how these impacts flow through guidance and earnings forecasts, and update these models as new data emerges.

• Monitor peer and industry responses: Track how competitors and peers are managing tariffs: whether through price increases, supply chain shifts, or contract renegotiations. This insight helps position the company’s response as proactive and identifies gaps that need addressing.

• Prepare clear, consistent messaging: Develop concise, data-backed narratives explaining tariff exposure, mitigation strategies, and impacts on guidance. Anticipate investor concerns and questions, and ensure messaging aligns across earnings calls, investor presentations, and media interactions.
• Scenario planning and risk mitigation: Support management in running scenario analyses to assess different tariff outcomes and their operational and financial effects. Help communicate the company’s agility in mitigating risks through supply chain diversification, production relocation, or alternative sourcing.

2. Agentic AI

“Are we articulating our AI strategy with enough clarity and credibility?”

In Q1 2025, references to agentic AI (AI that acts autonomously within set goals) surged across earnings calls, marking a shift from speculative enthusiasm to operational urgency. PayPal used its agentic commerce announcement to lead its Q1 2025 earnings call, signaling a new era of operational AI for payments and commerce. CEO Alex Chriss emphasized, “Just a few weeks ago we launched the industry’s first remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and enabled the leading AI agent frameworks to seamlessly integrate with PayPal APIs. Now, any business can create agentic experiences that allow customers to pay, track shipments, manage invoices, and more, all powered by PayPal and all within an AI client.”

For IROs, this signals a critical evolution in investor expectations. There’s growing scrutiny around whether a company’s AI narrative is substance or spin. Vague declarations about “AI integration” won’t cut it. Investors want to understand where agentic AI is driving decisions, optimising costs, or opening new revenue streams—and how that compares to peers.

What CEOs are likely to ask IROs:

• Are we articulating our AI strategy with enough clarity and credibility?
• Do investors understand how our use of agentic AI relates to business outcomes, such as automation, margin expansion, customer retention?
• How do we benchmark against competitors in terms of actual AI deployment, not just mentions in earnings scripts?
• Do we have real examples we can spotlight in our next earnings cycle?

How IROS can stay prepared:

• Get specific with use cases: Work closely with product and operations teams to gather tangible examples of where agentic AI is already driving measurable outcomes. These should tie directly to cost savings, efficiency gains, or improved customer experience. Share examples like automated customer support slashing costs by X%, or AI-driven supply chain optimization boosting efficiency by Y%.

• Clarify the “why now”: Be prepared to explain not just what the company is doing with AI, but why this is the decisive moment to scale those efforts. Point to enterprise readiness, such as robust data infrastructure, improved governance, and executive alignment, as well as rising customer demand and competitive urgency.

• Track peer benchmarks: Build a view of how competitors are presenting their AI progress, including product announcements, customer wins, and earnings call language. Use this to contextualize your positioning.

• Pressure-test the narrative: Anticipate investor questions on how AI investments translate into real cost savings, revenue growth, or risk reduction. Be ready to explain scalability challenges and how you’re mitigating them. Ground your story in concrete examples and measurable milestones, not buzzwords, to prove your AI strategy drives sustainable business value.

• Maintain cross-functional alignment: Set up regular syncs between IR, comms, product, and leadership teams to pressure-test messaging before key announcements. Collaborate on delivering a unified, business-focused message. Avoid technical jargon or mixed signals that could confuse or undermine investor confidence. Address any gaps or inconsistencies early, so your AI story lands with clarity and authority.

3. Uncertainty

“How is uncertainty shaping our strategy—and how are we responding?”

Uncertainty has become a defining force in 2025, with record-high economic and policy unpredictability weighing on business confidence and investment decisions. Unlike the specific, quantifiable impacts of tariffs, today’s uncertainty is broad and multi-layered: from volatile interest rates and shifting fiscal policies to global trade disruptions and financial market turbulence. 

CEOs now expect IROs to interpret complex global signals, explain how uncertainty influences guidance and capital allocation, and demonstrate that the company is prepared to adapt as conditions evolve. Investors are watching closely for signs that management is not only aware of these risks but is actively managing and communicating them.

What CEOs are likely to ask IROs:

• How are macroeconomic and policy uncertainties influencing our guidance and investment decisions?
• What scenarios are we preparing for, and how are we stress-testing our business model?
• Are we seeing shifts in investor sentiment or analyst expectations due to heightened volatility?
• Are we communicating transparently enough about the steps we’re taking to address uncertainty?

What IROs can do to stay prepared:

• Develop and maintain a real-time risk dashboard: Establish a live, in-house system to track key indicators, such as economic data, policy changes, market volatility, and geopolitical developments. Regularly brief management and investors on the most relevant risks and how they could affect the business.
• Institutionalize scenario planning: Establish a disciplined process with strategy, finance, and operations to rigorously model a range of scenarios-from upside opportunities to severe disruptions. Quantify the impact of each on revenue, costs, and capital allocation, and build actionable playbooks for rapid response. Use these insights to shape guidance, stress-test assumptions, and equip leadership with clear, confident answers for investors.
• Enhance the frequency and clarity of communications: Provide shorter, more frequent updates on emerging risks and company responses, especially during periods of heightened volatility. Host targeted calls, webinars, or roundtables to address investor concerns in real-time.
• Benchmark against peers and industry best practices: Leverage intelligence tools and industry frameworks to systematically compare your risk posture and mitigation strategies with competitors. Use smart dashboards that deliver up-to-date, comparable risk data and insights. Use this intelligence to position your company as proactive and well-prepared and to identify opportunities for differentiation.

4. Shareholder activism

“Are we on activist radar?”

Shareholder activism continues to be a prominent topic in 2025, with leading advisory and legal firms noting that activist campaigns and related demands remain front and center in boardroom and earnings call discussions. CEOs recognize that no company is immune: even brief periods of uncertainty or misalignment with investor expectations can draw activist attention.

For IROs, tracking and communicating activism risks is now an essential competency. CEOs expect you to provide real-time intelligence on investor sentiment, early signals of activist behavior, and comparative insights into your peer group’s vulnerabilities. The CEO’s implicit question is straightforward: do we know if we’re vulnerable, and are we prepared to respond decisively?

What CEOs are likely to ask IROs:

• Are activists showing interest in our stock? And if so, who and why?
• What specific vulnerabilities might activists target—performance gaps, governance issues, ESG critiques?
• How do investors perceive our management’s responsiveness and alignment with shareholder interests?
• What is our action plan if we’re approached publicly or privately by an activist investor?

What IROs can do to stay prepared:

• Use intelligent tools to monitor activist sentiment: Use intelligent tools to monitor activist sentiment by leveraging advanced analytics platforms that track shifts in ownership patterns, meeting feedback, and voting behavior alerting you to early signs of activist activity before issues escalate. Integrate social listening and sentiment analysis tools to capture real-time signals from news, forums and social media.

• Identify vulnerabilities early: Regularly audit potential weaknesses activists typically target: underperforming segments, unclear capital allocation strategies, governance lapses, or contentious ESG practices. Communicate these internally to get ahead of issues before activists highlight them externally.

• Establish proactive response plans: Establish proactive response plans by collaborating with legal, corporate communications, and senior leadership to create clear, actionable playbooks for potential activist approaches. Define roles, approval processes, and key messages in advance to ensure a rapid, unified response. Regularly update these plans using real-time intelligence and scenario exercises. 
• Maintain a robust engagement strategy: Ensure ongoing dialogue with institutional shareholders, emphasizing transparency around strategy, ESG initiatives, and governance structures. Activists prefer targets where shareholder engagement is weak or inconsistent.

5. Mitigation

“How are we communicating our risk mitigation strategies and performance safeguards to investors?”

Mitigation has become a central theme on earnings calls. The change compared to previous years is a shift from simply acknowledging risks like tariffs, cyberattacks, and technological disruption to demonstrating concrete, proactive steps to manage them. Companies like Pfizer and Honeywell highlighted their mitigation plans in detail, outlining strategic initiatives and tactical actions to offset evolving macroeconomic uncertainties. 

CEOs are pressing CFOs and IROs for clear, up-to-the-minute answers on what’s being done to safeguard margins, sustain growth, and maintain operational resilience. CFOs lead the development and execution of mitigation strategies and IROs play a critical role in translating these actions into transparent, compelling communications for investors and analysts. 

What CEOs are likely to ask IROs:

• How are we communicating our mitigation measures for current risks (tariffs, cyber threats, supply chain volatility, cost inflation, regulatory shifts) to investors and analysts?
• Can we clearly articulate and support the financial impact of these actions: both in terms of costs incurred and savings or value delivered, using data and real examples?
• What metrics and feedback loops are we using to monitor the effectiveness of our mitigation strategies, and how are we reporting progress to the market?
• Are our mitigation efforts resonating with investors and analysts, and how are we adapting our messaging to address their questions or concerns?

What IROs can do to stay prepared:

• Catalog and quantify mitigation actions: Maintain a detailed inventory of all risk mitigation initiatives across the business: supply chain diversification, cost control programs, contract renegotiations and technology investments. Work with finance to quantify their direct and indirect impacts on margins, cash flow, and operational performance.

• Implement KPI-driven risk visibility: Adopt granular risk KPIs (e.g., percentage of risks mitigated, reduction in incident recurrence rates, cost savings from supply chain diversification) to quantify mitigation effectiveness. Use automated dashboards to track metrics like identified vs. actual risks, control performance, and risk maturity, ensuring real-time visibility for leadership. 

• Proactively communicate mitigation ROI: Develop pre-packaged narratives that link mitigation actions to financial results, e.g., “Our dual-sourcing strategy reduced supply chain costs by X% in Q2” or “AI-driven inventory optimization freed $Y million in working capital”. Embed these data points into investor materials, earnings scripts, and crisis response protocols, ensuring consistent messaging about how risk management directly supports margins and growth. 
• Gather and share success stories: Highlight case studies or examples where mitigation efforts have delivered measurable results, such as avoiding supply disruptions, offsetting cost increases, or accelerating digital adoption. These stories help bring your mitigation narrative to life for investors and analysts.

You’ve got the data. Now get the answers.

Your IR team collects a wealth of information: investor feedback, earnings commentary, ownership trends, and peer benchmarks. But when your CEO asks, “How are investors reacting?”, you need to connect the dots fast.

That’s where Q4’s latest AI capabilities come in. Built to work with the data you already have, they help you surface timely, contextual insights—so your answers are grounded, strategic, and ready when leadership needs them.

See how Q4’s AI capabilities can deliver the clarity your CEO expects.