Trendmonitor 2022: the reporting trends of the DAX 40 companies

Letter from the CEO, user added value, marketing channels: Since 2014, RYZE Digital has been analysing the annual reports of DAX companies according to various criteria and evaluating qualitatively and quantitatively which reporting trends are emerging in them. As Deutsche Börse increased the DAX share index by ten stocks in September 2021, 40 DAX companies were analysed this year. The most important results at a glance.

Partial HTML solution as a (possible) precursor to the full HTML solution

Looking at the implementation of online annual reports, it is noticeable that the number of full HTML reports published has remained the same compared to the previous year at 30%. At the same time, partial HTML solutions (hybrid) are becoming significantly more attractive. While 7% of DAX companies published their online annual report as a hybrid solution in 2021, this figure had already risen to 20% by 2022.

At the same time, online abridged versions of the online annual report are on the decline. This reveals a tendency for many DAX 40 companies to use the partial HTML solution as a possible precursor to a full HTML solution. Although the overall trend is becoming more digital, this development is only progressing very slowly.

Annual reports are more frequently integrated into websites

One interesting aspect with a clear upward trend is the integration of annual reports into companies' websites: In 2021, the clear majority of reports (twelve companies) were structured as a separate microsite, while only seven companies integrated their reporting on the corporate website.

This year, 15 companies are already integrating their annual report on the corporate website, which corresponds to an increase of 114%. This positive trend is also interesting because more and more companies are integrating their reporting on the most effective traffic channel that their channel portfolio has to offer - the corporate website. As a result, the annual report is increasingly being advertised on the corporate website (20 companies).

More download and service options

There is also a lot of movement in terms of download and service options. For example, 38 of the 40 companies surveyed offer various download and service options as part of their digital annual reports. These range from audio recordings and videos (37 companies) to Excel tables (23 companies) and interactive and customisable comparisons of key figures (twelve companies).

Quick comparison of MDAX and DAX 40

Like the DAX 40 reports from 2021, the MDAX reports also show a decline in image communication to just 44%. In contrast, the Executive Board has its say in almost all reports (96% MDAX, 95% DAX 40). In addition, MDAX companies take the need to communicate with their stakeholders seriously by presenting a separate sustainability report more often than DAX 40 companies.