Reg FD: Not-So-Full Disclosure

Some companies may be providing more earnings information to investors because of Regulation FD, but the controversial new rule isn't making all of them fess up, according to a survey released today by the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).

Twenty-four percent of companies are actually providing less information following the enactment of Regulation FD, or Fair Disclosure, according to the survey conducted of 577 companies by NIRI, a trade group for investment relations professionals.

Reg FD was enacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission last October to prevent companies from secretly guiding down earnings estimates by leaking bad news to analysts or favored shareholders ahead of earnings reports. Many analysts believe Regulation FD has a lot to do with the exceptional number of earnings warnings the Street has seen in recent months (for our story on the trend, click here). ...