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Individual Investors' Attention to Accounting Information: Evidence from Online Financial Communities

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  • Alina Lerman

Abstract

Online financial communities provide a unique opportunity to directly examine individual investors' attention to accounting information on a large scale and in great detail. I analyze accounting‐related content in large samples of Yahoo! message board posts and StockTwits and find investors pay attention to a range of accounting information, fixating particularly on earnings, cash, and revenues. Consistent with the expectation that investors react to relevant information events, I find accounting‐related discussion elevated around the filings of earnings releases and 8‐K reports, but the reaction to periodic reports is confined to small firms. I also find investors expand their acquisition of accounting information and processing efforts in poor information environments. Greater attention to accounting information at earnings releases does not appear to be meaningfully associated with better information processing. Attention accordée par les investisseurs à l'information comptable : Données issues des communautés financières en ligne Les communautés financières en ligne représentent une occasion unique d'examiner directement, à grande échelle et en détail, l'attention qu'accordent les investisseurs à l'information comptable. En analysant le contenu traitant de comptabilité dans de vastes échantillons de publications sur les forums de discussion de Yahoo! et sur StockTwits, j'ai constaté que les investisseurs prêtent attention à un éventail de renseignements comptables, et s'attardent plus particulièrement aux résultats, à la trésorerie et aux gains. Conformément à la prévision selon laquelle les investisseurs réagissent aux activités de communication d'information pertinente, j'ai observé que les discussions sur la comptabilité portent en bonne partie sur la publication des résultats et des formulaires 8‐K, mais que la réaction aux rapports périodiques est limitée aux petites sociétés. J'ai également découvert que les investisseurs font davantage d'efforts pour acquérir et traiter l'information comptable lorsque l'offre d'information est faible. L'attention accrue accordée à l'information comptable lors de la publication des résultats ne semble pas être associée de façon significative à un meilleur traitement de l'information.

Suggested Citation

  • Alina Lerman, 2020. "Individual Investors' Attention to Accounting Information: Evidence from Online Financial Communities," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 2020-2057, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:37:y:2020:i:4:p:2020-2057
    DOI: 10.1111/1911-3846.12603
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    2. Ballinari, Daniele & Audrino, Francesco & Sigrist, Fabio, 2022. "When does attention matter? The effect of investor attention on stock market volatility around news releases," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Koenraadt, Jeroen & Martens, Tim & Sextroh, Christoph, 2024. "Social media analysts, managerial learning, and corporate innovation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124417, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Neilson, Jed J., 2022. "Investor information gathering and the resolution of uncertainty," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1).
    5. Runmei Luo & Yong Ye, 2024. "Pressure from words: The tone of investors in Chinese earnings communication conferences and managerial myopia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(1), pages 833-868, March.
    6. Goodell, John W. & Kumar, Satish & Li, Xiao & Pattnaik, Debidutta & Sharma, Anuj, 2022. "Foundations and research clusters in investor attention: Evidence from bibliometric and topic modelling analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 511-529.
    7. Eierle, Brigitte & Klamer, Sebastian & Muck, Matthias, 2022. "Does it really pay off for investors to consider information from social media?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

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