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Understanding Stock Price Volatility: The Role of Earnings

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  • GIL SADKA

Abstract

In an efficient capital market, asset prices vary when investors change their expectations about cash flows, discount rates, or both. Using dividends to measure cash flows, previous research shows that the aggregate dividend‐price ratio varies due to changes in expected discount rates (returns) rather than expected cash flows. In contrast, using accounting earnings instead of dividends as a measure of cash flows, this paper shows that as much as 70% of the variation in the dividend‐price ratio can be explained by changes in expected earnings. Moreover, the paper documents a significant negative correlation between expected returns and expected earnings, suggesting that variations in a common factor to both may generate significant price volatility. The results are consistent with the dividend‐policy irrelevance hypothesis.

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  • Gil Sadka, 2007. "Understanding Stock Price Volatility: The Role of Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 199-228, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:45:y:2007:i:1:p:199-228
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-679X.2006.00230.x
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    4. Choi, Jung Ho & Kalay, Alon & Sadka, Gil, 2016. "Earnings news, expected earnings, and aggregate stock returns," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 110-143.
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    7. Sadka, Gil & Sadka, Ronnie, 2009. "Predictability and the earnings-returns relation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 87-106, October.
    8. Brown, Rhoda & Jones, Michael, 2015. "Mapping and exploring the topography of contemporary financial accounting research," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 237-261.
    9. Gkougkousi, Xanthi & John, Kose & Radhakrishnan, Suresh & Sadka, Gil & Saunders, Anthony, 2022. "Cross-sectional dispersion and bank performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    10. Hirshleifer, David & Hou, Kewei & Teoh, Siew Hong, 2007. "Accruals and Aggregate Stock Market Returns," MPRA Paper 5197, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. William M. Cready & Umit G. Gurun, 2010. "Aggregate Market Reaction to Earnings Announcements," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 289-334, May.
    12. Safdar, Irfan, 2018. "The information content of aggregate profitability," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(5), pages 497-515.
    13. Cenesizoglu, Tolga, 2011. "Size, book-to-market ratio and macroeconomic news," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 248-270, March.
    14. Fahd Alduais, 2020. "An empirical study of the earnings–returns association: an evidence from China’s A-share market," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, December.
    15. Hirshleifer, David & Hou, Kewei & Teoh, Siew Hong, 2009. "Accruals, cash flows, and aggregate stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 389-406, March.
    16. John S. Howe & Emre Unlu & Xuemin (Sterling) Yan, 2009. "The Predictive Content of Aggregate Analyst Recommendations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 799-821, June.
    17. Hui Guo & Xiaowen Jiang, 2011. "Accruals and the Conditional Equity Premium," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 187-221, March.
    18. Jaewoo Kim & Bryce Schonberger & Charles Wasley & Hunter Land, 2020. "Intertemporal variation in the information content of aggregate earnings and its effect on the aggregate earnings-return relation," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1410-1443, December.
    19. Long Chen & Zhi Da & Richard Priestley, 2012. "Dividend Smoothing and Predictability," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(10), pages 1834-1853, October.
    20. Ball, Ray & Sadka, Gil, 2015. "Aggregate earnings and why they matter," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 39-57.
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