What does an equity research analyst do all day?

What does a typical day look like in equity research?

Research teams are small: a senior analyst whose name is on the work, one or two associates, and sometimes a summer analyst. The day starts early because notes need to be out before the market opens.

• 5:30 to 7:00: read overnight news on covered companies and write a quick note if anything changes the view.
• 7:00 to 7:30: the morning meeting, where analysts pitch their notes to the bank's sales and trading floor.
• 7:30 to 9:30: calls from the salesforce and investors asking about the note or the sector.
• 9:30 to 12:00: model updates, data work, and drafting longer reports.
• 12:00 to 4:00: calls with company management, investor relations, industry contacts, and clients. Sometimes a marketing trip or conference.
• 4:00 to 7:00: edits, models, and preparing tomorrow's notes.

What does a research analyst publish?

The core output is a view on each stock, expressed as a rating (such as buy, hold, or sell, though each bank uses its own words) and a price target, backed by a model and a written argument. Investors read the reasoning more than the rating.

A worked price target with round numbers: you expect a company to earn $3.00 per share next year and think it deserves 20 times earnings, in line with its peers. That gives a target of $60. If the stock trades at $50 today, your target implies 20% upside, and the note has to explain why the market is missing it.

• Initiation of coverage: a long report that sets out the thesis, model, and valuation when the team starts covering a company.
• Earnings previews and recaps: what to expect, then what happened and what changed.
• Flash notes: short reactions to news.
• Sector reports: themes across all covered companies.
• Rating changes: upgrades and downgrades, the notes that move stocks most.

How does earnings season change the job?

Each covered company reports four times a year, and most report within a few weeks of each other. In that stretch, the team writes a preview for each, reads each release the moment it is out, publishes a reaction before the next open, listens to the call, updates the model, and publishes a full recap. With a dozen or more companies, that is many late nights in a row, which is why hours can pass 80 then.

Outside earnings season, the rhythm is steadier, with time for deeper reports, conferences, and new coverage.

Which equity research programs are open right now?

Equity research summer intake is smaller and less structured than banking. Some banks hire research summer analysts through their own program and others fold research into a broader markets program, so read each posting. The table below is read from each bank's own careers site.

What does an equity research summer analyst do?

A summer analyst on a research team does the same work as the associate, at a smaller scale: updating models after earnings, building comparable company tables, pulling industry data, and drafting parts of notes. Many interns also write or help write a piece on one company or theme by the end of the summer.

The teams are small, so you will work directly with the senior analyst. That is the best part of the job and the reason it suits people who like writing as much as modeling.

How can you build the skills before you apply?

Research interviews are a stock pitch plus accounting and valuation, often with a written test. The best preparation is to do the job on a small scale before anyone pays you to.

1. Pick a sector you can talk about with interest, and five companies in it.
2. Build a model for one: revenue by segment, margins, and earnings per share for two years.
3. Write a two page initiation with a rating, a price target, the thesis, and the risks.
4. When the company next reports, write a one page recap within a day of the release.
5. Use the work in a stock pitch competition or the CFA Research Challenge if your school enters.

Questions students ask

Is equity research a good path for writers?

Yes. It is one of the few finance jobs where writing clearly is a core skill, and analysts are judged on how well investors understand and use their arguments.

What is the difference between sell side and buy side research?

Sell side analysts at banks publish research for clients. Buy side analysts at funds and asset managers do research only for their own firm's investment decisions.

Do equity research analysts talk to company management?

Yes, regularly: on earnings calls, at conferences, and in meetings, within the bank's compliance rules.

Where do equity research analysts go after a few years?

Common moves are long-only asset management, long/short hedge funds, investor relations, and corporate strategy. Many stay and become senior analysts.

Do I need the CFA to start in research?

No. Some analysts pursue it after starting, but it is not required for a summer or first-year role.