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Strategic News Releases in Equity Vesting Months

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  • Edmans, Alex
  • Xu, Moqi
  • Goncalves-Pinto, Luis
  • Wang, Yanbo

Abstract

We show that CEOs strategically time corporate news releases to coincide with months in which their equity vests. These vesting months are determined by equity grants made several years prior, and thus unlikely driven by the current information environment. CEOs reallocate news into vesting months, and away from prior and subsequent months. They release 5% more discretionary news in vesting months than prior months, but there is no difference for non-discretionary news. These news releases lead to favourable media coverage, suggesting they are positive in tone. They also generate a temporary run-up in stock prices and market liquidity, potentially resulting from increased investor attention or reduced information asymmetry. The CEO takes advantage of these effects by cashing out shortly after the news releases.

Suggested Citation

  • Edmans, Alex & Xu, Moqi & Goncalves-Pinto, Luis & Wang, Yanbo, 2014. "Strategic News Releases in Equity Vesting Months," CEPR Discussion Papers 10144, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10144
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    3. Bastian von Beschwitz & Donald B Keim & Massimo Massa, 2020. "First to “Read” the News: News Analytics and Algorithmic Trading," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(1), pages 122-178.
    4. Alex Edmans & Vivian W. Fang & Allen H. Huang, 2022. "The Long‐Term Consequences of Short‐Term Incentives," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 1007-1046, June.
    5. Alvaro Remesal, 2018. "Clawback Provisions, Executive Pay, and Accounting Manipulation," Working Papers wp2018_1808, CEMFI.
    6. Alex Edmans & Vivian W. Fang & Katharina A. Lewellen, 2013. "Equity Vesting and Managerial Myopia," NBER Working Papers 19407, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Guthrie, Graeme & Stannard, Tom, 2020. "Easy money? Managerial power and the option backdating game revisited," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Pascal Busch & Stefan Obernberger, 2017. "Actual Share Repurchases, Price Efficiency, and the Information Content of Stock Prices," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 324-362.
    9. Kolasinski, Adam C. & Yang, Nan, 2018. "Managerial myopia and the mortgage meltdown," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(3), pages 466-485.
    10. Alex Edmans & William Mann, 2019. "Financing Through Asset Sales," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 3043-3060, July.
    11. Alex Edmans & Xavier Gabaix, 2016. "Executive Compensation: A Modern Primer," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(4), pages 1232-1287, December.
    12. Rahman, Dewan & Oliver, Barry & Faff, Robert, 2020. "Evidence of strategic information uncertainty around opportunistic insider purchases," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    13. Stephen J. Smulowitz & Didier Cossin & Hongze Lu, 2023. "Managerial Short-Termism and Corporate Social Performance: The Moderating Role of External Monitoring," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(4), pages 759-778, December.
    14. Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu & Zhao, Yang, 2022. "Does extended auditor disclosure deter managerial bad-news hoarding? Evidence from crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    15. Al Mamun, Md & Balachandran, Balasingham & Duong, Huu Nhan, 2020. "Powerful CEOs and stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Michael L. Bognanno, 2019. "Efficient markets, managerial power, and CEO compensation," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-34, February.
    17. Ingolf Dittmann & Amy Yazhu Li & Stefan Obernberger & Jiaqi Zheng, 2022. "The corporate calendar and the timing of share repurchases and equity compensation," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-101/IV, Tinbergen Institute.
    18. Stephanie F. Cheng & Gus De Franco & Haibo Jiang & Pengkai Lin, 2019. "Riding the Blockchain Mania: Public Firms’ Speculative 8-K Disclosures," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(12), pages 5901-5913, December.
    19. Rong Gong, 2023. "CEO overconfidence and the tone of press release," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2081-2108, June.
    20. Jung Min Kim, 2023. "Uncertainty about managerial horizon and voluntary disclosure," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 615-657, June.
    21. Patrick Houlihan & Germán G. Creamer, 2021. "Leveraging Social Media to Predict Continuation and Reversal in Asset Prices," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 57(2), pages 433-453, February.
    22. Cheng, Lin & Jin, Qinglu & Ma, Hui, 2023. "Tone emphasis and insider trading," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    23. Moore, David, 2023. "Strategic repurchases and equity sales: Evidence from equity vesting schedules," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    24. Edmans, Alex & Holderness, Clifford, 2016. "Blockholders: A Survey of Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 11442, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    25. Stephen Glaeser & Jeremy Michels & Robert E. Verrecchia, 2020. "Discretionary disclosure and manager horizon: evidence from patenting," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 597-635, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ceo incentives; Equity vesting; News.; Voluntary disclosure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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