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Upside surprise with durable, still-building causes

Calls Tested
421
Answered YES
46
Hit Rate
10.9%
rare by design

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH) — this company's answers

NO on the Q3 2016 call 2016-10-24 A
The model's full reasoning — Q3 2016 call → NOWe need to determine if management describes a clear positive step-up in the just-reported period (Q3 2016) and attributes it to durable, company-specific causes still in effect. From the transcript: Peter Ho says "Once again we were very pleased with our financial results for the quarter. Loan balances grew 4.4% from the previous quarter due to strong growth in every loan category." He mentions strong growth in commercial and consumer loans. He also says "We also continued to attract quality deposits during the quarter." Noninterest income grew. He says "Our liquidity and capital levels remain robust" and "credit quality... remains stable." Later, in Q&A, Peter Ho discusses loan growth: "I think it's a bit of an outstanding quarter, especially in commercial. We were a bit surprised, pleasantly surprised, by C&I growth in the quarter." He attributes it to production and fundings on existing commitments. He says "I think 5.5% linked just commercial is going to be tough to replicate moving forward." He also mentions construction lending is near its high point and will revert down. So he cautions that the growth is not expected to continue at the same pace. He says "We would anticipate growth in the coming quarters, but I guess the caveat that I'd put out there is that we're probably near our high point in construction outstandings." So he explicitly says the step-up is not durable in the same magnitude. Also, mortgage banking income increased, but that is partly due to market share gains and project closings. He says "we have picked up market share which we're proud of" and "our continued growth is going to be in large part driven by increases in purchase activity" and "spiked from time to time by project closings." So that is somewhat durable but also project-specific. Overall, management describes a strong quarter but explicitly cautions that the growth rate is not expected to be replicated. They attribute strength to a combination of factors, some of which are one-time (fundings on existing commitments, project closings) and some are ongoing (market share gains, purchase activity). However, they also say "We would anticipate growth in the coming quarters" but with a caveat. The key is whether they present it as a durable step-up or a spike.

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Show the exact prompt the model was given
Using ONLY the supplied earnings call transcript and no outside information: On this call, does management describe a clear POSITIVE STEP-UP in the business in the just-reported period — results, orders, volumes, customers, adoption, utilization, or activity that came in meaningfully stronger than the company's own recent norm or its own prior expectations — AND does management attribute that strength mainly to DURABLE, COMPANY-SPECIFIC causes that are still in effect and still building, rather than to one-time, seasonal, or external luck? Answer YES when BOTH halves come through in management's own words, in whatever form fits the business: (1) A REAL STEP-UP THAT ALREADY HAPPENED. Management presents the recent period as a genuine break above the company's own recent trajectory — stronger than what the business had been doing, or ahead of what management itself had planned or expected — grounded in things that actually occurred (actual orders, sales, customers, output, wins, usage, or activity), not merely in hopes, pipeline, or a raised forecast. (2) DURABLE, INTERNAL CAUSES THAT MANAGEMENT SAYS ARE STILL WORKING. When management explains WHY the period was strong, the explanation rests chiefly on things attached to the company itself that persist beyond the quarter — for example, a product, capability, capacity, service, location, technology, or team now in place and performing; customers who have adopted, committed, expanded, or keep returning; a change the company made that is now producing; or a position the company built that keeps generating business — AND management conveys, directly or plainly in substance, that these same drivers remain in effect and have more to contribute in coming periods, so the step-up is presented as the early part of something continuing rather than a spike that is now over. Answer NO if the period was weak, mixed, in-line, or merely stabilizing, with no clear step-up above the company's own recent norm. NO if management attributes the strength mainly to one-time items, a single unusually large order it treats as exceptional, catch-up or pull-forward demand, seasonality, weather, commodity or currency moves, an easy comparison, or broad market/industry conditions rather than to company-specific drivers. NO if management itself cautions that the strength is temporary, is not expected to repeat, or is expected to normalize. NO if the explanation of the strength is generic ("strong execution," "great team," "favorable demand") with no identifiable company-attached cause that persists. NO if the continuation is expressed only as hope or guidance with no still-working driver behind it. NO if the step-up or its causes appear only in an analyst's question or characterization that management does not itself affirm. Use only the supplied transcript. Answer only YES or NO.

Companies that answered YES

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GRBK Green Brick Partners, Inc. Q3 2023 2023-11-01 B
AFL Aflac Incorporated Q2 2023 2023-08-02 C+
KE Kimball Electronics, Inc. Q3 2023 2023-05-06 C+
TACT TransAct Technologies Incorporated Q4 2022 2023-03-08 A
OEC Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. Q4 2022 2023-02-17 B+
ADPT Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation Q4 2022 2023-02-14 C+
SOL ReneSola Ltd Q3 2022 2022-12-01 C+
EXFY Expensify, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-08-12 D
IT Gartner, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-08-02 A
FLYW Flywire Corporation Q1 2022 2022-05-14 B+
VNRX VolitionRx Limited Q1 2022 2022-05-12 F
HLIO Helios Technologies, Inc. Q1 2022 2022-05-10 C
BXP Boston Properties, Inc. Q1 2022 2022-05-03 A
RELY Remitly Global, Inc. Q4 2021 2022-03-02 B
FLUX Flux Power Holdings, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-02-10 D
LC LendingClub Corporation Q4 2021 2022-01-26 A
TJX The TJX Companies, Inc. Q2 2021 2021-08-18 C
UFI Unifi, Inc. Q4 2021 2021-08-07 B
CMTL Comtech Telecommunications Corp. Q1 2019 2018-12-07 B+
ADSK Autodesk, Inc. Q3 2019 2018-11-20 A
PRPO Precipio, Inc. Q3 2018 2018-11-19 D
CUBI Customers Bancorp, Inc. Q3 2018 2018-10-26 C+
LRN Stride, Inc. Q1 2019 2018-10-23 B
AU AngloGold Ashanti's Q2 2018 2018-08-20 B
SRDX Surmodics, Inc. Q3 2018 2018-08-06 A
ORAN Orange SA Q2 2018 2018-07-26 B
ROP Roper Technologies, Inc. Q2 2018 2018-07-26 A
BCOV Brightcove Inc. Q1 2018 2018-04-26 B+
ATI Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Q1 2018 2018-04-24 B
UPLD Upland Software, Inc. Q4 2017 2018-03-08 C+
HOLX Hologic, Inc. Q4 2017 2017-11-08 D
CCOI Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. Q2 2017 2017-08-03 B
LEA Lear Corporation Q2 2017 2017-07-26 B+
IONS Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Q1 2017 2017-05-09 C
ABR Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. Q4 2016 2017-03-03 B+
WYY WidePoint Corporation Q3 2016 2016-11-09 D
FNV Franco-Nevada Corporation Q3 2016 2016-11-08 B+
NDSN Nordson Corporation Q3 2016 2016-08-23 A
GEO The GEO Group, Inc. Q2 2016 2016-08-02 B+
CGNX Cognex Corporation Q2 2016 2016-08-01 A
LBTYK Liberty Global's Q1 2016 2016-05-10 C+
GOGO Gogo Inc. Q1 2016 2016-05-06 C+

How the model reasoned

FLYW · Q1 2022 → YESThe question is: Does management describe a clear POSITIVE STEP-UP in the business in the just-reported period, stronger than their own recent norm or prior expectations, AND attribute that strength m...YES The transcript shows a clear step-up: Q1 revenue +47% YoY, payment volume +46%, record 130+ new clients (highest quarterly for a public company), and raised full-year guidance. Management attributes this directly to durable, internal drivers—successful execution of growth strategies, cross-selling, go 100-person sales/marketing expansion whose ROI is already visible in client wins and pipeline growth, product/tech investments, and land-and-expand momentum across verticals. These are presented as multiyear investments still in effect and expected to continue producing results, not one-time or external factors.
TJX · Q2 2021 → YESThe question is: Does management describe a clear POSITIVE STEP-UP in the business in the just-reported period, stronger than their own recent norm or prior expectations, AND attribute that strength m...YES The transcript shows a clear step-up: open-only comp sales rose 20% (well above plans), sales jumped $2B, EPS hit $0.64 (above plans), and profit grew strongly versus FY2020. Management attributes this to durable, company-specific drivers—branded mix, great values 24/7, treasure-hunt shopping, eclectic assortments from 1,100 buyers sourcing from 21,000 vendors, convenient locations, and flexible model—that they say will continue to drive market share and profitability going forward.
CUBI · Q3 2018 → YESThe question is: Does management describe a clear POSITIVE STEP-UP in the business in the just-reported period — results, orders, volumes, customers, adoption, utilization, or activity that came in me...YES The transcript shows a clear step-up: core deposit growth accelerated immensely in Q3 2018 (17% QoQ, with demand deposits +38%, money market/savings +19%, time deposits +25%), driven by three specific, company-initiated actions implemented starting in Q3 — product and deposit-generation improvements 1) escrow balances increased significantly, 2) launch of CB digital bank generating $52–100 million per month in core deposits, and 3) continued growth in BankMobile deposits.

More from the question bank

Order-of-magnitude gapRunning ahead of their own plan — and manageThe company itself is the constraintFresh change already executed, benefit mostlManagement is planning the next period arounStrong facts, held-back storyAll questions →
Not investment advice. Artul.ai publishes AI-generated earnings-call quality grades and expected-volatility estimates — never buy or sell recommendations. We tested over 1,600 predictive hypotheses against 165,000 transcripts; the honest result, including what failed, is documented in our methodology.