IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v69y2023i8p4908-4931.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Flight to Earnings: The Role of Earnings in Periods of Capital Scarcity

Author

Listed:
  • Nick Guest

    (Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850)

  • S. P. Kothari

    (Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142)

  • Eric So

    (Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142)

Abstract

We examine the link between the scarcity of arbitrage capital and investors’ response to firms’ earnings information. The cost of financing levered investment strategies (i.e., investing with borrowed funds) increases in the risk profile of the securities being traded. As a result, when capital is scarce, levered traders face heightened incentives to tilt their portfolios in the direction of firms’ earnings information as an indicator of lesser risk because doing so mitigates financing constraints. Our results suggest that these investors become more responsive to firms’ earnings announcements when capital is scarce. Moreover, market prices display a stronger reaction to firms’ announcements and less postearnings announcement drift. Together, our findings suggest the scarcity of arbitrage capital spurs both the use of and responsiveness of market prices to firms’ earnings news.

Suggested Citation

  • Nick Guest & S. P. Kothari & Eric So, 2023. "Flight to Earnings: The Role of Earnings in Periods of Capital Scarcity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(8), pages 4908-4931, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:69:y:2023:i:8:p:4908-4931
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.4538
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4538
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4538?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeremy C. Stein, 2009. "Presidential Address: Sophisticated Investors and Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1517-1548, August.
    2. Aragon, George O. & Strahan, Philip E., 2012. "Hedge funds as liquidity providers: Evidence from the Lehman bankruptcy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(3), pages 570-587.
    3. Denis, David J. & Osobov, Igor, 2008. "Why do firms pay dividends? International evidence on the determinants of dividend policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 62-82, July.
    4. Adrian, Tobias & Shin, Hyun Song, 2010. "Liquidity and leverage," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 418-437, July.
    5. Brav, Alon & Jiang, Wei & Ma, Song & Tian, Xuan, 2018. "How does hedge fund activism reshape corporate innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 237-264.
    6. Mitchell, Mark & Pulvino, Todd, 2012. "Arbitrage crashes and the speed of capital," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(3), pages 469-490.
    7. Cristina Cella & Andrew Ellul & Mariassunta Giannetti, 2013. "Investors' Horizons and the Amplification of Market Shocks," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(7), pages 1607-1648.
    8. Alessandro Beber & Michael W. Brandt & Kenneth A. Kavajecz, 2009. "Flight-to-Quality or Flight-to-Liquidity? Evidence from the Euro-Area Bond Market," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 925-957, March.
    9. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2006. "Investor Sentiment and the Cross‐Section of Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1645-1680, August.
    10. Lars E.O. Svensson, 1994. "Estimating and Interpreting Forward Interest Rates: Sweden 1992 - 1994," NBER Working Papers 4871, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Markus K. Brunnermeier & Lasse Heje Pedersen, 2009. "Market Liquidity and Funding Liquidity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2201-2238, June.
    12. Stefan Nagel, 2012. "Evaporating Liquidity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(7), pages 2005-2039.
    13. John Y. Campbell & Jens Hilscher & Jan Szilagyi, 2008. "In Search of Distress Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2899-2939, December.
    14. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "The Limits of Arbitrage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 35-55, March.
    15. Ang, Andrew & Gorovyy, Sergiy & van Inwegen, Gregory B., 2011. "Hedge fund leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(1), pages 102-126, October.
    16. Thompson, Samuel B., 2011. "Simple formulas for standard errors that cluster by both firm and time," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 1-10, January.
    17. Amihud, Yakov, 2002. "Illiquidity and stock returns: cross-section and time-series effects," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 31-56, January.
    18. Nicolae Gârleanu & Lasse Heje Pedersen, 2011. "Margin-based Asset Pricing and Deviations from the Law of One Price," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(6), pages 1980-2022.
    19. Cohen, Randolph B. & Gompers, Paul A. & Vuolteenaho, Tuomo, 2002. "Who underreacts to cash-flow news? evidence from trading between individuals and institutions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 409-462.
    20. Aragon, George O., 2007. "Share restrictions and asset pricing: Evidence from the hedge fund industry," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 33-58, January.
    21. Bernard, Vl & Thomas, Jk, 1989. "Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Delayed Price Response Or Risk Premium," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27, pages 1-36.
    22. Ball, R & Brown, P, 1968. "Empirical Evaluation Of Accounting Income Numbers," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 159-178.
    23. Mashruwala, Christina & Rajgopal, Shivaram & Shevlin, Terry, 2006. "Why is the accrual anomaly not arbitraged away? The role of idiosyncratic risk and transaction costs," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 3-33, October.
    24. Lasse Heje Pedersen, 2015. "Efficiently Inefficient: How Smart Money Invests and Market Prices Are Determined," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10441.
    25. Jeffrey Ng & Tjomme O. Rusticus & Rodrigo S. Verdi, 2008. "Implications of Transaction Costs for the Post–Earnings Announcement Drift," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 661-696, June.
    26. Ke, Bin & Ramalingegowda, Santhosh, 2005. "Do institutional investors exploit the post-earnings announcement drift?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 25-53, February.
    27. Sean Shun Cao & Ganapathi S. Narayanamoorthy, 2012. "Earnings Volatility, Post–Earnings Announcement Drift, and Trading Frictions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 41-74, March.
    28. Bushee, BJ & Noe, CF, 2000. "Corporate disclosure practices, institutional investors, and stock return volatility," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 171-202.
    29. Bonsall, Samuel B. & Green, Jeremiah & Muller, Karl A., 2020. "Market uncertainty and the importance of media coverage at earnings announcements," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1).
    30. Grace Xing Hu & Jun Pan & Jiang Wang, 2013. "Noise as Information for Illiquidity," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(6), pages 2341-2382, December.
    31. Shumway, Tyler, 2001. "Forecasting Bankruptcy More Accurately: A Simple Hazard Model," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(1), pages 101-124, January.
    32. Samuel G. Hanson & Adi Sunderam, 2014. "The Growth and Limits of Arbitrage: Evidence from Short Interest," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(4), pages 1238-1286.
    33. Francis A. Longstaff, 2004. "The Flight-to-Liquidity Premium in U.S. Treasury Bond Prices," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 77(3), pages 511-526, July.
    34. Itzhak Ben-David & Francesco Franzoni & Rabih Moussawi, 2012. "Hedge Fund Stock Trading in the Financial Crisis of 2007--2009," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(1), pages 1-54.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jacobs, Heiko, 2015. "What explains the dynamics of 100 anomalies?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 65-85.
    2. Long, Huaigang & Chiah, Mardy & Zaremba, Adam & Umar, Zaghum, 2024. "Changes in shares outstanding and country stock returns around the world," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Cakici, Nusret & Zaremba, Adam, 2022. "Salience theory and the cross-section of stock returns: International and further evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 689-725.
    4. Jacob Thomas & Frank Zhang & Wei Zhu, 2021. "Dark Trading and Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7785-7811, December.
    5. Jingzhi Chen & Charlie X. Cai & Robert Faff & Yongcheol Shin, 2022. "Nonlinear limits to arbitrage," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(6), pages 1084-1113, June.
    6. Sandro Lunghi & Daniel Schmidt & Bastian von Beschwitz, 2021. "Fundamental Arbitrage under the Microscope: Evidence from Detailed Hedge Fund Transaction Data," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-022, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    7. Cho, Thummim, 2020. "Turning alphas into betas: arbitrage and endogenous risk," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102085, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Cho, Thummim, 2018. "Turning alphas into betas: arbitrage and the cross-section of risk," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118915, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Wu, Juan (Julie) & Zhang, Jianzhong (Andrew), 2019. "Short selling and market anomalies," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    10. Cakici, Nusret & Zaremba, Adam, 2023. "Recency bias and the cross-section of international stock returns," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Cho, Thummim, 2020. "Turning alphas into betas: Arbitrage and endogenous risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(2), pages 550-570.
    12. Moinas, Sophie & Nguyen, Minh & Valente, Giorgio, 2017. "Funding Constraints and Market Illiquidity in the European Treasury Bond Market," TSE Working Papers 17-814, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    13. Goldberg, Jonathan, 2020. "Liquidity supply by broker-dealers and real activity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(3), pages 806-827.
    14. Nguyen, Minh, 2020. "Collateral haircuts and bond yields in the European government bond markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    15. Stefan Nagel, 2013. "Empirical Cross-Sectional Asset Pricing," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 167-199, November.
    16. He, Zhiguo & Kelly, Bryan & Manela, Asaf, 2017. "Intermediary asset pricing: New evidence from many asset classes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 1-35.
    17. Wang, Xinjie & Wu, Yangru & Yan, Hongjun & Zhong, Zhaodong (Ken), 2021. "Funding liquidity shocks in a quasi-experiment: Evidence from the CDS Big Bang," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(2), pages 545-560.
    18. Peress, Joël & Dong, Xi & KANG, NAMHO, 2020. "Fast and Slow Arbitrage: Fund Flows and Mispricing in the Frequency Domain," CEPR Discussion Papers 15235, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Ali, Ashiq & Chen, Xuanjuan & Yao, Tong & Yu, Tong, 2020. "Can mutual funds profit from post earnings announcement drift? The role of competition," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    20. Erik Vogt & Michael Fleming & Or Shachar & Tobias Adrian, 2017. "Market Liquidity After the Financial Crisis," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 43-83, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:69:y:2023:i:8:p:4908-4931. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.