Systemax Inc. (SYX) — Earnings Call X-Ray
Our AI read all 22 of SYX's earnings calls (2016–2021) and answered the same battery of questions about each one. Every past call is free; the newest quarter unlocks with a free account.
Previous Call Grade
B
Q4 2020
Calls Analyzed
22
2016–2021
Avg Candor
6.7/9
evasion 1.5/9
Call-by-call analysis
🔒 Q1 2021 earnings call
2021-05-08
NEWEST
Guidance: ■■■■■Demand: ■■■■■■
Margins: ■■■■Backlog: ■■■■
■ analysts, ■■ questionsexpected move ±■■%
Management ■■■■■■ guidance against ■■■■■■■■ demand and ■■■■■■■ margins. The delivery was ■■■■■■■■ and ■■■■ in specifics, with ■■■ questions left hanging.
🔒 The Q1 2021 call grade is ready
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B
Q4 2020 earnings call
2021-02-23
Management gave no formal guidance against steady demand and expanding margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics, relaxed under questioning.
Demand: stableMargins: expandingPricing: under pressureCapex: flat 2 analysts · 5 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubts⚑ Reads rehearsed
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
YES Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
NO Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
C+
Q3 2020 earnings call
2020-10-27
Management held guidance steady against accelerating demand and expanding margins. The delivery was rich in specifics, relaxed under questioning.
Guidance: maintainedDemand: acceleratingMargins: expandingPricing: stableCapex: flat
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured⚑ Question left hanging✓ Guidance underwritable⚑ Reads rehearsed
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
NO Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
YES Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
NO Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
B
Q2 2020 earnings call
2020-07-28
Management held guidance steady against mixed demand signals and expanding margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.
Guidance: maintainedDemand: mixedMargins: expandingBacklog: stablePricing: stableHeadcount: cuttingCapex: flat
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubts✓ Early product, fast growth⚑ Reads rehearsed
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
YES Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
YES Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
C+
Q1 2020 earnings call
2020-04-28
Management gave no formal guidance against mixed demand signals and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.
Demand: mixedMargins: contractingBacklog: growingPricing: stableCapex: flat
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubts⚑ Reads rehearsedDirection beats results
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
C
Q4 2019 earnings call
2020-02-25
Management gave no formal guidance against mixed demand signals and expanding margins. The delivery was rich in specifics.
Demand: mixedMargins: expandingPricing: stableHeadcount: growingCapex: decreasing
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured⚑ Question left hanging✓ Resolves doubts⚑ Reads rehearsed
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
NO Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
YES Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
YES Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
NO Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
B
Q3 2019 earnings call
2019-10-29
Management held guidance steady against steady demand and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.
Guidance: maintainedDemand: stableMargins: contractingPricing: stableHeadcount: flatCapex: increasing
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubts⚑ Reads rehearsedDirection beats results
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
YES Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
B
Q2 2019 earnings call
2019-07-30
Management gave no formal guidance against steady demand. The delivery was rich in specifics, relaxed under questioning.
Demand: stableMargins: stablePricing: stableCapex: increasing
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured⚑ Question left hanging✓ Resolves doubts⚑ Reads rehearsed
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
NO Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
YES Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
YES Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
NO Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?
Earlier calls
| Call | Date | Grade | Guidance | Demand | Margins | Candor | Evasion |
|---|
| Q1 2019 |
2019-05-03 |
B+ |
none | accelerating | expanding |
6/9 |
0/9 |
| Q4 2018 |
2019-02-26 |
C+ |
none | stable | stable |
6/9 |
2/9 |
| Q3 2018 |
2018-10-30 |
B+ |
none | accelerating | expanding |
7/9 |
0/9 |
| Q2 2018 |
2018-07-31 |
A |
maintained | accelerating | contracting |
7/9 |
1/9 |
| Q1 2018 |
2018-05-01 |
B |
none | accelerating | expanding |
6/9 |
2/9 |
| Q4 2017 |
2018-02-27 |
B+ |
none | accelerating | expanding |
6/9 |
2/9 |
| Q3 2017 |
2017-10-31 |
C+ |
none | accelerating | expanding |
6/9 |
2/9 |
| Q2 2017 |
2017-08-01 |
B+ |
none | accelerating | expanding |
7/9 |
0/9 |
| Q1 2017 |
2017-05-07 |
A |
none | accelerating | expanding |
7/9 |
1/9 |
| Q4 2016 |
2017-03-02 |
B |
none | accelerating | expanding |
7/9 |
0/9 |
| Q3 2016 |
2016-10-31 |
D |
none | mixed | contracting |
7/9 |
2/9 |
| Q2 2016 |
2016-08-03 |
C+ |
none | mixed | contracting |
7/9 |
2/9 |
| Q1 2016 |
2016-05-03 |
C+ |
none | mixed | expanding |
7/9 |
2/9 |
| Q4 2015 |
2016-03-09 |
C+ |
none | mixed | contracting |
7/9 |
1/9 |
How to read this page
The grade is a transparent composite of call quality — candor, specificity, low evasion, low stress, whether the call resolves more doubts than it creates, and the guidance action — not a buy or sell signal. The expected move is a volatility estimate from the one signal that survived our out-of-sample tests: how a stock's own reaction and pre-call volatility predict the size (not direction) of its next move. Full detail, including everything that failed: methodology.
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Not investment advice. Artul.ai publishes AI-generated earnings-call quality grades and expected-volatility estimates — never buy or sell recommendations. We tested over 1,600 predictive hypotheses against 165,000 transcripts; the honest result, including what failed, is documented in our
methodology.