IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/coacre/v8y1991i1p42-61.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The differential information content of earnings announcements: The case of merger

Author

Listed:
  • JANG YOUN CHO
  • KOOYUL JUNG

Abstract

. The differential information content hypothesis implies that the magnitude of the abnormal return is a function of firm characteristics such as size or quality of reported earnings. Previous studies, however, provide little linkage to the relationship between firm characteristic changes and stock return behavior around the earnings announcement date. This study examines this relationship with 102 sample firms that experienced mergers from 1977 to 1984. For a sample of firms whose future uncertainty (measured by firm variance) was reduced by merger, a significant reduction in the marginal information content of the earnings announcement after merger was observed. This reduction did not occur, however, for variance†increasing merger firms or for pair†matched control firms. Similar results were obtained when the firm's future uncertainty was measured by merger type classified by how closely industries of merging firms were related. Résumé. L'hypothèse du contenu marginal en information veut que l'ampleur du rendement anormal soit fonction des caractéristiques de l'entreprise telles que la taille ou la qualité des bénéfices déclarés. Jusqu'à maintenant, les études n'établissent qu'une faible relation entre l'evolution des caractéristiques de l'entreprise et le comportement du rendement des actions, à proximité de la date de déclaration des bénéfices. Les auteurs examinent cette relation auprès d'un échantillon de 102 entreprises qui ont connu des fusions entre 1977 et 1984. Travaillant sur un échantillon d'entreprises dont l'incertitude relative à leur avenir (mesurée selon la fluctuation rapportée par l'entreprise) a été réduite à la faveur de la fusion, les auteurs observent une diminution significative du contenu marginal en information de la déclaration des bénéfices après la fusion. Cependant, cette diminution ne s'est pas produite pour les entreprises issues de fusions qui enregistrent une fluctuation croissante ou pour les entreprises dominantes appariées. Les résultats sont similaires lorsque l'incertitude relative à l'avenir de l'entreprise est mesurée en fonction de la nature de la fusion, classée selon la mesure dans laquelle les secteurs d'activité des entreprises fusionnées sont liés.

Suggested Citation

  • Jang Youn Cho & Kooyul Jung, 1991. "The differential information content of earnings announcements: The case of merger," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 42-61, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:8:y:1991:i:1:p:42-61
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1911-3846.1991.tb00833.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1911-3846.1991.tb00833.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1911-3846.1991.tb00833.x?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. Galai, Dan & Masulis, Ronald W., 1976. "The option pricing model and the risk factor of stock," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(1-2), pages 53-81.
    2. Atiase, Rk, 1985. "Predisclosure Information, Firm Capitalization, And Security Price Behavior Around Earnings Announcements," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 21-36.
    3. Scholes, Myron & Williams, Joseph, 1977. "Estimating betas from nonsynchronous data," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 309-327, December.
    4. Morse, D, 1981. "Price And Trading Volume Reaction Surrounding Earnings Announcements - A Closer Examination," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(2), pages 374-383.
    5. Patell, Jm, 1976. "Corporate Forecasts Of Earnings Per Share And Stock-Price Behavior - Empirical Tests," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 246-276.
    6. Lev, Baruch & Mandelker, Gershon, 1972. "The Microeconomic Consequences of Corporate Mergers," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(1), pages 85-104, January.
    7. Melicher, Ronald W & Rush, David F, 1973. "The Performance of Conglomerate Firms: Recent Risk and Return Experience," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 28(2), pages 381-388, May.
    8. Sicherman, Neil W & Pettway, Richard H, 1987. "Acquisition of Divested Assets and Shareholders' Wealth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(5), pages 1261-1273, December.
    9. Eger, Carol Ellen, 1983. "An Empirical Test of the Redistribution Effect in Pure Exchange Mergers," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 547-572, December.
    10. Holthausen, Rw & Verrecchia, Re, 1988. "The Effect Of Sequential Information Releases On The Variance Of Price Changes In An Intertemporal Multi-Asset Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 82-106.
    11. McNichols, Maureen & Manegold, James G., 1983. "The effect of the information environment on the relationship between financial disclosure and security price variability," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 49-74, April.
    12. Oppong, A, 1980. "Information-Content Of Annual Earnings Announcements Revisited," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 574-584.
    13. Lev, B, 1989. "On The Usefulness Of Earnings And Earnings Research - Lessons And Directions From 2 Decades Of Empirical-Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27, pages 153-192.
    14. Weston, J Fred & Mansinghka, Surendra K, 1971. "Tests of the Efficiency Performance of Conglomerate Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 26(4), pages 919-936, September.
    15. Freeman, Robert N., 1987. "The association between accounting earnings and security returns for large and small firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 195-228, July.
    16. Pincus, M, 1983. "Information Characteristics Of Earnings Announcements And Stock-Market Behavior," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 155-183.
    17. Asquith, K Paul & Kim, E Han, 1982. "The Impact of Merger Bids on the Participating Firms' Security Holders," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(5), pages 1209-1228, December.
    18. Ohlson, James A., 1979. "On financial disclosure and the behavior of security prices," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 211-232, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mark A. Trombley, 1994. "The Effect of Corporate Merger Transactions on the Information Content of Earnings Announcements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 483-503, March.
    2. Dong, Bei & Robinson, Dahlia & Robinson, Michael, 2015. "The market's response to earnings surprises after first-time going-concern modifications," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 21-32.

    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. Yadav, Pradeep K., 1992. "Event studies based on volatility of returns and trading volume: A review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 157-184.
    2. Byung T. Ro, 1988. "Firm size and the information content of annual earnings announcements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(2), pages 438-449, March.
    3. Maquieira, Carlos P. & Megginson, William L. & Nail, Lance, 1998. "Wealth creation versus wealth redistributions in pure stock-for-stock mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 3-33, April.
    4. Brown, Lawrence D., 1996. "Influential accounting articles, individuals, Ph.D. granting institutions and faculties: A citational analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(7-8), pages 723-754.
    5. Hannu, Schadewitz, 1997. "Financial and nonfinancial information in interim reports: Determinants and implications," MPRA Paper 44292, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Sung S. Kwon & John J. Wild, 1994. "Informativeness of Annual Reports for Firms in Financial Distress," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 331-351, June.
    7. Huang, Meng & Marsden, Alastair & Poskitt, Russell, 2009. "The impact of disclosure reform on the NZX's financial information environment," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 460-478, September.
    8. R. C. Graham & C. E. Lefanowicz, 1997. "Parent and Subsidiary Earnings Announcements and Parent and Subsidiary Valuation," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 3-17, July.
    9. Rowland K. Atiase & Linda S. Bamber & Senyo Tse, 1989. "Timeliness of financial reporting, the firm size effect, and stock price reactions to annual earnings announcements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(2), pages 526-552, March.
    10. Ray Ball & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2008. "How Much New Information Is There in Earnings?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 975-1016, December.
    11. Terry Shevlin & D. Shores, 1993. "Firm Size, Security Returns, and Unexpected Earnings: The Anomalous Signed†Size Effect," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, September.
    12. Mohamed Sellami, 2006. "Typologie des déterminants comptables de la valeur : Apports de l'approche économique de l'information dans la mesure de la valeur," Post-Print halshs-00558252, HAL.
    13. Gong, Stephen X.H. & Firth, Michael & Cullinane, Kevin, 2006. "The information content of earnings releases by global airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 82-91.
    14. Haung, Meng & Marsden, Alastair & Poskitt, Russell, 2006. "The Impact of Disclosure Reform on the NZX's Financial Information Environment," Working Paper Series 3835, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    15. repec:vuw:vuwscr:18930 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Haung, Meng & Marsden, Alastair & Poskitt, Russell, 2006. "The Impact of Disclosure Reform on the NZX's Financial Information Environment," Working Paper Series 18930, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    17. Das, Somnath & King, Alexander Z., 2021. "Measuring the informativeness of earnings announcements: The role of event windows," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 350-367.
    18. S. P. Kothari & Charles Wasley, 2019. "Commemorating the 50‐Year Anniversary of Ball and Brown (1968): The Evolution of Capital Market Research over the Past 50 Years," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(5), pages 1117-1159, December.
    19. Jap Efendi & Jin Dong Park & Chandra Subramaniam, 2016. "Does the XBRL Reporting Format Provide Incremental Information Value? A Study Using XBRL Disclosures During the Voluntary Filing Program," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(2), pages 259-285, June.
    20. Cheng Chee Mun, Eugene & Courtenay, Stephen M. & Rahman, Asheq R., 2011. "Effects of prior voluntary disclosure on earnings announcements in an environment with low information and regulation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 308-329, June.
    21. Matthias Meyer & Utz Schäffer & Markus Gmür, 2008. "Transfer und Austausch von Wissen in der Accounting-Forschung: Eine Zitations- und Kozitationsanalyse englischsprachiger Accounting-Journals 1990–2004," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 153-181, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:coacre:v:8:y:1991:i:1:p:42-61. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1911-3846 .

    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.