1. Introduction
This study provides evidence that firms with more transparent earnings enjoy a lower cost of capital. Firms with more transparent earnings are those whose earnings better reflect changes in the economic value of the firm. We operationalize transparency by developing a measure based on the explanatory power of the returns-earnings relation, i.e., the extent to which earnings and change in earnings covary contemporaneously with stock returns. We find that firms with more transparent earnings have a lower cost of capital as reflected in subsequent excess returns and portfolio mean subsequent returns. We also find that firms with more transparent earnings have a lower expected cost of capital. Our findings are based on tests that include controls for growth and other firm fundamentals that are known to be associated with cost of capital.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) state that a key purpose of financial statements is to improve decision-making by investors, lenders, and other providers of capital. To the extent that a firm’s financial statements, including its earnings, are more transparent, uncertainty regarding the value of its equity may be lower, and therefore it will enjoy a lower cost of capital. Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), embraces this notion by suggesting that ‘‘high quality accounting standards y improve liquidity [and] reduce capital costs.