Online travel brands generally get most of the attention on their financial performance when reporting their latest earnings four times a year.
But there are a breed of people that study the figures constantly, advising their investment clients and the markets about the challenges and opportunities having an impact on some of the most powerful travel brands in the world.
They worry about so-called "course corrections," work out where the best merger and acquisition moves will come next and, ultimately, wield enormous power over the fate of companies that control large swathes of the industry.
The Phocuswright Conference's signature Street Talk panel is one moment during the course of the year when they come together to share their opinions (and they have lots of them) with the rest of the sector.
This year's event in Los Angeles saw Kevin Kopelman (director for technology, media and telecom - hotels and online travel, Cowen), Brian Nowak (managing director, Morgan Stanley), Eric Sheridan (managing director, UBS) take to the stage with Jake Fuller (managing director, Guggenheim Partners) as moderator.
Alongside discussing the machinations of the usual, publicly listed players in the sector, such as Expedia Group, Booking Holdings and TripAdvisor, the name of Amazon rears its threatening head.
If particular, whether Amazon would make a move back into the industry, and through what mechanism - namely, build or buy.
The Center Stage interview is here.
Executive Roundtable: Street Talk
With Fuller joining PhocusWire in the studio for a one-on-one after.
PhocusWire @ Phocuswright 2018 - Talk Of The Street