Last week we covered Koyfin’s AI earnings summarizer. This week: how to build the same capability yourself using Claude, for a fraction of the cost. This is the kind of workflow that becomes second nature once you’ve run it a few times.
What You’ll Need
- A Claude account (claude.ai) — the free tier works; Pro ($20 USD/mo) gives you longer context and more uploads
- The earnings call transcript (plain text or PDF)
- 10 minutes the first time you set this up; 5 minutes per earnings call after that
Getting the Transcript
For TSX-listed companies, transcripts are available through:
- Motley Fool Transcripts (free, usually same day)
- Seeking Alpha (free with limitations)
- SEDAR+ (for MD&A, not transcripts, but useful for official numbers)
- Your broker’s research section (TD WebBroker, Questrade IQ Edge both carry major transcripts)
Download as PDF or copy the text. For Claude, PDF upload works cleanly on Pro.
The Prompt
This is the core of the workflow. Copy this and adapt it to your situation:
You are analyzing an earnings call transcript for [COMPANY NAME] ([TICKER]).
I am a long-term investor focused on [1-2 sentence description of your thesis
for this company]. My holding period is [X years].
Please analyze this transcript and provide:
1. FINANCIAL SUMMARY
- Revenue vs. expectations (if mentioned)
- EPS vs. expectations
- Key margin trends
- Free cash flow commentary
2. THESIS CHECK
- Does management commentary support or challenge my thesis?
- Quote the 2-3 most relevant statements directly
3. RISKS MENTIONED
- New risks introduced this quarter
- How management addressed existing known risks
4. GUIDANCE
- Exact guidance figures if provided
- Any change in tone vs. last quarter
5. MY ACTION
- Based purely on this call: Hold / Add / Reduce / Watch
- One sentence rationale
Be direct. Flag anything that seems inconsistent or that I should investigate further.
[PASTE OR ATTACH TRANSCRIPT]
Why This Works Better Than Generic Summaries
The key difference from a generic AI summary is the thesis check. You’re asking Claude to evaluate the transcript against your specific reason for owning the stock, not just summarize what was said.
For example: if you own Suncor because you believe their refining margins will expand as they integrate acquisitions, you tell Claude that. The AI then specifically looks for management commentary on refining margins and acquisition integration — not just the top-line financial numbers everyone else is reading.
Example Output
Here’s a condensed version of what Claude returned for a recent Canadian energy company earnings call:
THESIS CHECK: Partially supports. Management confirmed refining utilization improved to 94% (from 91%), consistent with your integration thesis. However, the CFO’s language on capital allocation shifted — “flexibility” was mentioned 4 times, which is new. This could signal a special dividend or share buyback is being considered, or it could mean capex uncertainty. Warrants follow-up.
MY ACTION: Hold. No new information that changes the long-term thesis, but monitor capital allocation language next quarter.
This kind of contextual output takes 3 minutes to read and tells you exactly what you need to know.
Cost
If you use the claude.ai web interface and upload PDFs manually: $0 on the free tier, or included in your $20/mo Pro subscription.
If you want to automate this (batch process multiple transcripts, store outputs): Claude API costs roughly $0.02–0.05 per transcript using Claude Haiku. An entire earnings season of 15-20 companies costs under $1.
Limitations
- Claude’s knowledge cutoff means it doesn’t know how the stock has traded since the call — you provide that context
- It can miss subtle tone shifts that an experienced analyst would catch on a live call
- For very technical industries (biotech, mining), validate the AI’s interpretation of technical language against the actual transcript
Bottom Line
This workflow is particularly powerful for investors who own 10-20 positions and want to track each quarterly call without spending 10+ hours per reporting season on transcripts. The upfront cost is writing a good prompt once. After that it’s mostly copy-paste.
Sign up for Claude → | Claude API docs →
Next issue: Composer — building an automated rebalancing strategy for your TFSA without writing code.