Delta Airlines and Goodyear Tire & Rubber both canceled plans to present at the conference, which in hindsight gave investors a heads-up that the companies were planning to come out with significant news. Instead of appearing at the conference on Tuesday, Delta announced a management shake-up on Wednesday, while Goodyear finally released earnings that had been delayed because of accounting problems.
Jim Whitehurst, senior v.p. in finance at Delta, had planned to address investors but the airline determined it was inappropriate for him to present because he was taking on a completely new role at Delta, said Catherine Stengel, spokeswoman at Delta. His new role is senior v.p., chief network and planning officer.
Goodyear, meanwhile, filed its delayed earnings statement on Wednesday, which showed less-than-expected losses. Beth Gould, director of investor relations, confirmed the absence was related to the company's earnings release.
Investors said they were disappointed both companies did not present since the overwhelming tone of the conference was one of companies touting their positive attributes and Delta and Goodyear were notable in their absences because they are both clearly going through rough patches.
