Text mining as a tool to explore rhetorical strategies in earnings calls

Earnings calls have become a well-established form of financial reporting through which companies aim to proactively engage investors. While several studies have focused on the informative role of earnings calls in financial disclosure, their rhetorical dimension has received less attention. Inspired by classical rhetoric, this paper analyzes earnings calls to identify expressions of logos, ethos and pathos in the speech of corporate participants. Text mining techniques were used to extract empirical evidence of rhetorical features, followed by qualitative discourse analysis to interpret strategic usage. Results indicate a strong presence of persuasive language that is skillfully juxtaposed with financial information to emphasize success and instill confidence. In addition to descriptive insights into this key corporate event, the study also proposes text mining as an innovative methodological approach for the analysis of the language of corporate communication.