Does free cash flow problem contribute to excess stock return synchronicity?

William Mingyan Cheung, Li Jiang

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We investigate whether Jensen’s free cash flow problem contributes to excess stock return synchronicity. We find that low-growth firms with high free cash flow have greater stock return synchronicity. These firms also engage in earnings management to lower their disclosure quality. To the extent that free cash flow for low-growth firms provides corporate insiders an opportunity to extract private control benefit, our findings lend direct and concrete support to Jin and Myers (J Financ Econ, 79:257–292, 2006) prediction that insiders increase opaqueness to capture cash flow beyond the level expected by outsider investors. We identify Jensen’s free cash flow problem as an important driver for stock return synchronicity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)123-140
Number of pages18
JournalReview of Quantitative Finance and Accounting
Volume46
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • Discretionary accruals
  • Free cash flow problem
  • Opaqueness
  • Stock return synchronicity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Accounting
  • General Business,Management and Accounting
  • Finance

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