Abstract: Using a sample of firm-year observations from the Chinese stock market for the period 2005 to 2020, we examine the economic consequences and mechanisms of strategic disclosures of executives at earnings presentations. The results show that executives’ strategic responses can cover the bad news and cause irrational investor sentiment in a short time, with the result of increasing the risk of share price collapse. Further analyses show that executives’ strategic responses to the questions about forward-looking issues, such as strategic planning issues and future operating issues are more likely to increase the risk of stock price collapse. It is clear that " answer beside the point" is an opportunistic tactic that is beneficial in the short time but will lead to negative economic consequences in the long turn.

Key words: strategic answers, risk of share price collapse, investor sentiment, opportunism