Abstract
Purpose – Earlier research found that firms with the highest distress risk have low book-to-market
(B/M) ratios and low returns. This paper aims to examine the robustness of those’s results and
provide further evidence that high distress-risk firms do not enjoy the same high returns earned by
high B/M firms and that distress risk is unlikely to explain the Fama and French high-minus-low
(HML) B/M factor.
Design/methodology/approach – A distress-risk measure, distressed-minus-solvent (DMS), is
calculated and a range of zero investment distress-risk trading strategies is investigated. Value- and
equal-weighted portfolios are examined both with negative book-equity firms and without. These
most distressed firms have low or negative B/M values and would either not be included in the Fama
and French sample or included in the low B/M portfolio.
Findings – The paper finds that the DMS factor is negative and significant, and none of the zero
investment strategies earns significantly positive returns.
Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that exposure to distress risk does not
earns investors a positive risk premium. It appears that over the period examined, market
inefficiencies drive the market value and returns of high distress-risk firms.
Originality/value – The distress-risk premium is shown to be negative and, therefore, cannot be
driven by bankruptcy risk alone. The negative premium is not consistent with a financial distress
explanation for the Fama and French HML factor.
Keywords Investment appraisal, Assets valuation, Returns
Paper type Research paper