Investment Decisions, Financing Decisions, and Firm Value

Posted: 27 Jan 1997

See all articles by Eugene F. Fama

Eugene F. Fama

University of Chicago - Finance

Kenneth R. French

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: October 1996

Abstract

We estimate that the average value of a dollar invested in the U.S. corporate sector is $1.18. When we delete utilities and current assets, where opportunities for value added seem limited, the estimate jumps to $1.68. We use cross-section regressions to study how value is related to dividends and debt. The regressions can potentially identify tax effects, but they cannot disentangle other factors, including bankruptcy costs, agency costs, and asymmetric information. Simple tax stories say value is negatively related to dividends and positively related to debt, but we find the opposite. We infer that dividends and debt convey information about profitability that obscures any tax effects.

JEL Classification: G30

Suggested Citation

Fama, Eugene F. and French, Kenneth R., Investment Decisions, Financing Decisions, and Firm Value (October 1996). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1454

Eugene F. Fama (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Finance ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-702-7282 (Phone)
773-702-9937 (Fax)

Kenneth R. French

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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