Using Earnings Conference Calls to Identify Analysts with Superior Private Information
38 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2009 Last revised: 3 Nov 2011
There are 2 versions of this paper
Using Earnings Conference Calls to Identify Analysts with Superior Private Information
Using Earnings Conference Calls to Identify Analysts with Superior Private Information
Date Written: November 2011
Abstract
We examine the extent to which analysts who participate in earnings conference calls by asking questions possess superior private information relative to analysts who do not ask questions. Using a large sample of earnings conference call transcripts over the period 2002 to 2005, we find that annual earnings forecasts issued immediately subsequent to a conference call are both more accurate and timelier for participating analysts relative to nonparticipating analysts. These results hold after controlling for observable analyst characteristics, suggesting conference call participation can serve as a mechanism to identify analysts possessing superior private information. The economic magnitude of the superior private information contained in participating analyst forecasts is small but comparable with magnitudes reported in prior studies with respect to other analyst characteristics. Our mediation analysis does not support the notion that the superior private information stems exclusively from the information received during the call. Therefore, from a regulatory stand point, our results suggest that regulatory intervention to allow for equal participation during conference calls may be unwarranted.
Keywords: Conference calls, private information benefits, financial analysts, Regulation FD, forecast accuracy, forecast timeliness
JEL Classification: M41, G24, G29, G38, K22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Regulation Fd and the Financial Information Environment
By Frank Heflin, K.r. Subramanyam, ...
-
Regulation Fair Disclosure and Earnings Information: Market, Analyst, and Corporate Responses
By Warren Bailey, Haitao Li, ...
-
Informational Effects of Regulation Fd: Evidence from Rating Agencies
By Philippe Jorion, Alfred Z. Liu, ...
-
The Effectiveness of Regulation Fd
By Andreas Gintschel and Stanimir Markov
-
By Anup Agrawal, Mark A. Chen, ...
-
The Impact of Regulation Fair Disclosure: Trading Costs and Information Asymmetry
By Kumar Venkataraman, Rex Thompson, ...
-
Managerial and Investor Responses to Disclosure Regulation: The Case of Reg Fd and Conference Calls
By Brian J. Bushee, Dawn A. Matsumoto, ...
-
Managerial and Investor Responses to Disclosure Regulation: The Case of Reg Fd and Conference Calls
By Brian J. Bushee, Dawn A. Matsumoto, ...
-
Getting Up to Speed on the Financial Crisis: a One-Weekend-Reader's Guide
By Gary B. Gorton and Andrew Metrick