Seeing is believing: are investors' corporate online visits as informative as site visits?

This paper examines the post-visit earnings forecast inaccuracy of online visits (visits via videoconferencing) relative to site visits (visits to production or operation sites) with data from China between 2020 and 2021. We use the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the city where analysts' offices are located as an instrument for the choices between online visits and site visits. Our results show that online visits fail to maintain the accuracy of analysts' EPS forecasts. Moreover, the diminished financial reporting quality of firms amplifies the forecasting disadvantages associated with online visits. Finally, the lack of site observation rather than one-on-one communication is the primary reason for the underperformance of online visits.