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Impact of investor trust on public firms’ stock price efficiency and cost of capital: Insights from a firm-level measure for investor trust

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  • Lin, Lin
  • Pun, Ngou Teng
  • Sun, Ping-Wen

Abstract

Although studies have suggested that investor trust positively influences stock price efficiency and subsequently reduces the cost of capital for public firms, few studies have employed a direct firm-level measure of investor trust to offer empirical support for this proposition. Because stock prices are more efficient surrounding earnings announcements, we construct this measure by examining how prices change when unexpected earnings reports are provided. Using US market data from 1990 to 2019 to determine how strongly investor trust affects public firms’ stock price efficiency and cost of capital, we find that stock prices of firms with higher investor trust reflect market news more efficiently and predict earnings more accurately. Furthermore, our results suggest that companies trusted more by investors can raise money more cheaply. Collectively, our findings underscore the importance of fostering investor trust as a means of enhancing stock price efficiency and reducing the cost of capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin, Lin & Pun, Ngou Teng & Sun, Ping-Wen, 2024. "Impact of investor trust on public firms’ stock price efficiency and cost of capital: Insights from a firm-level measure for investor trust," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:138:y:2024:i:c:s0264999324001421
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2024.106786
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Investor trust; Earnings announcement; Standardized unexpected earnings; Accounting quality; Price efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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