We investigate the consequences of earnings management by analyzing stock price reactions to on-target quarterly earnings announcements (earnings that coincide with analysts' consensus expectations) during 1993-1999. We use techniques advanced in Jones (1991), Kang and Sivaramakrishnan (1995), and Collins and Hribar (2000) to distinguish observations where firms apparently manage earnings in order to meet expectations. We find that mean security returns during the earnings announcement period are 0.18% to 0.91% less for observations where firms apparently increase earnings than for those where firms apparently decrease earnings to meet expectations. These differences are statistically significant at conventional levels. We also find that returns during the earnings disclosure period vary inversely with the extent that firms appear to manage earnings upward. Overall, the evidence suggests that market participants are aware of incentives to manage earnings to meet expectations, and that they discount managed earnings components when interpreting quarterly earnings disclosures. Finally, we point out that the issue of stock splits should be investigated with care when using published consensus analyst forecasts.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1.1, EBS European Business School gGmbH (Finance), language: English, abstract: Many authors have already studied about stock price reactions after earnings announcements yet, which is because of the importance of earnings announcements, in particular quarterly earnings announcements, for many investors. However, all major studies concerning this topic deal with long-term scenarios, the stock's price performance is measured for a time period of at least three quarters. Due to the fact that there are many investors, especially institutional investors such as hedge funds that trade stocks much more frequently, the existing studies are not relevant for them. This paper studies stock price reactions around quarterly earnings announcements for companies listed in Deutscher Aktienindex (DAX) or Midcap DAX (MDAX) with respect to changes of the company's full-year outlook and of earnings surprise regarding analyst consensus forecast within ten days before and after the announcement date. Hence, this paper aims to analyse short-term reaction to quarterly earnings announcements, which are of relevance for all investors, whose investment strategy is, at least partially, focussing on the short-term performance. The main target group of this analysis are therefore hedge funds and investors that run short-term strategies. Due to the fact that the widespread Event Study Methodology is focused on the long-term, it is irrelevant for this analysis.

This book is a study of earnings management, aimed at scholars and professionals in accounting, finance, economics, and law. The authors address research questions including: Why are earnings so important that firms feel compelled to manipulate them? What set of circumstances will induce earnings management? How will the interaction among management, boards of directors, investors, employees, suppliers, customers and regulators affect earnings management? How to design empirical research addressing earnings management? What are the limitations and strengths of current empirical models?

Profit from earnings announcements, by taking targeted, short-term option positions explicitly timed to exploit them! Based on rigorous research and huge data sets, this book identifies the specific earnings-announcement trades most likely to yield profits, and teaches how to make these trades—in plain English, with real examples! Trading on Corporate Earnings News is the first practical, hands-on guide to profiting from earnings announcements. Writing for investors and traders at all experience levels, the authors show how to take targeted, short-term option positions that are explicitly timed to exploit the information in companies’ quarterly earnings announcements. They first present powerful findings of cutting-edge studies that have examined market reactions to quarterly earnings announcements, regularities of earnings surprises, and option trading around corporate events. Drawing on enormous data sets, they identify the types of earnings-announcement trades most likely to yield profits, based on the predictable impacts of variables such as firm size, visibility, past performance, analyst coverage, forecast dispersion, volatility, and the impact of restructurings and acquisitions. Next, they provide real examples of individual stocks–and, in some cases, conduct large sample tests–to guide investors in taking advantage of these documented regularities. Finally, they discuss crucial nuances and pitfalls that can powerfully impact performance.

This Element is an excerpt from Trading on Corporate Earnings News: Profiting from Targeted, Short-Term Options Positions (9780137084920) by John Shon, Ph.D., and Ping Zhou, Ph.D. Available in print and digital formats. Understand those crucial quarterly earning announcements: how they work, and how they impact stock prices. Quarterly earnings announcement are the most salient, most anticipated, regularly-recurring announcement that companies make. They are the most watched piece of information that comes directly from the people that know the business the best. They are also considered the most reliable source of information, largely because companies are subject to strict SEC Rule 10b-5 rules...