Quartr IR Awards 2026

Every year, we distribute tens of thousands of earnings calls, capital markets days, and quarterly reports, giving us a front-row seat to the world of investor relations. We see every day what good looks like, and what truly exceptional looks like.

Welcome to the 2026 Quartr IR Awards, now in its fourth year. Once again, we're recognizing excellence across six categories: Innovation, Sustainability, Transparency, Clarity, Insights, and the best Capital Markets Day.

These awards aren't about rewarding the largest companies with the biggest IR budgets. They're about identifying teams that make complex businesses understandable. Building trust through consistent accountability. Telling a story that aligns with reality while remaining forward-looking.

The six winners are…

Innovation: Acast

Podcast advertising is still poorly understood by many investors. How do you measure ROI in a medium that doesn't quite look like radio, search, or social? For Acast, that question sits at the heart of its equity story, and its IR team has leaned into it.

At its 2025 Capital Markets Day, Acast went beyond financial slides and focused on education. The company presented an independent study showing that podcast advertising delivers 56% higher short-term return on ad spend than the average media channel (5x ROAS versus 3.2x). Perhaps most impressive, podcasts delivered the strongest long-term returns across all media.

What sets Acast apart is how clearly it explains the role podcast advertising plays within the broader marketing ecosystem. This data-backed equity story clearly helps investors understand not just what Acast does, but why it works.

Sustainability: LVMH

LVMH shows that sustainability and luxury are not opposing forces. When aligned in execution, they reinforce each other. The company's IR approach stands out for linking environmental commitments directly to brand excellence and long-term value creation.

The numbers speak for themselves. 71% of LVMH's energy consumption is now covered by renewable energies. The company's LIFE 360 program sets specific, measurable targets: 100% traceability across key raw materials (French vineyards, cotton, leather, diamonds all at 99%+ traceability), 68% reduction in energy-related CO₂ emissions by 2030, and 4.3 million hectares of protected habitat with a target of 5 million by 2030.

LVMH beautifully integrates sustainability into the core investment narrative. The company explicitly ties its environmental commitments to craftsmanship, heritage, and the quality that ultimately turn into pricing power. This shows investors that sustainability isn't a cost center but rather integral to maintaining brand equity that drives margins.

Transparency: Nordea Bank

Many companies provide guidance. Far fewer show, in detail, how they delivered on it. As the largest financial services group in the Nordic region, Nordea's 2025 results presentation did exactly that.

The bank laid out original targets from its 2022 Capital Markets Day and actual outcomes – side by side. Return on equity reached 15.5% against a >15% target. Cost of risk came in at 5 basis points versus an expected ~10. Total shareholder distributions reached EUR 17.4 billion, right in line with commitments.

Every key metric met or exceeded expectations, but more importantly in this context, Nordea explained how. That consistency, and the willingness to be held accountable against prior promises, is what defines excellence in transparency.

Clarity: ASML

ASML operates at the cutting edge of global technology. Some even argue it builds the most complex machines ever made by humans. Yet few companies explain their business as clearly. ASML articulates its position simply: lithography remains central to semiconductor innovation and the company's portfolio addresses all customer needs from DUV to EUV to holistic 3D integration.

Its quarterly presentations break the business down by technology, end market, and geography, giving investors multiple lenses to understand mix, demand, and risk. ASML also connects today's performance to tomorrow's returns, clearly stating how it balances R&D investment with dividends and buybacks.

This is what clarity in investor relations looks like: complexity explained, trade-offs acknowledged, and long-term value made tangible.

Insights: Spotify

Since launching in 2008, Spotify has transformed how the world consumes audio. But with over 600 million users across 180+ markets, the company faces a fundamental IR challenge: explaining a business where gross margins are constantly questioned, content costs remain unclear to outsiders, and every basis point movement matters to the investment thesis.

What sets Spotify apart is its willingness to educate investors on how the music industry actually works. Most media companies avoid the messy details of licensing economics, royalty structures, and the mechanics of content costs. Spotify leans into them. Each quarter, the company provides gross margin decomposition by segment showing exactly what's driving performance.

This level of transparency extends beyond the P&L. Spotify explains how MAUs convert to subscribers, why certain markets perform differently, and how content costs evolve as the platform scales. The company doesn't hide behind aggregated numbers or vague references to "content investment." It shows investors the actual mechanics of a complex, multi-stakeholder ecosystem.

That willingness to demystify the business – to treat investors as partners who deserve to understand how value is really created – is what earns Spotify this year's insights award.

CMD: Birkenstock

Since its inception in 1774, Birkenstock has grown into one of the world's most iconic footwear brands. The company that spent 250 years perfecting its contoured cork footbed as a family-owned business went public in 2023, creating a unique IR challenge: how do you translate centuries of craftsmanship and brand heritage into a modern growth story? Its first Capital Markets Day, held in January 2026, set a new benchmark for investor education.

The event structure itself demonstrates commitment to full transparency: 5+ hours of detailed programming including Q1 review and 3-year outlook (CFO), dedicated segment overviews from the Presidents of Americas, EMEA, and APAC, a product session (CPO), lunch break with product display tour allowing investors to experience the brand firsthand, supply chain deep-dive (VP Operational Excellence), video tour of manufacturing facilities, and extended final Q&A.

The manufacturing video tour and supply chain session addressed a critical investor question: can Birkenstock scale production while maintaining quality? The presentation showed in detail how the company has delivered 25% volume growth and 50% increase in capacity since IPO, while achieving production cost reductions.

That said, our recognition for best Capital Markets Day goes to German Birkenstock for showing investors not just the financials, but the full story behind a 250-year-old brand executing a modern growth strategy.

Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding achievements in elevating the standards of investor relations.