Constructing a Powerful Profitability Factor: International Evidence

59 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2018 Last revised: 15 Oct 2019

See all articles by Matthias X. Hanauer

Matthias X. Hanauer

Technische Universität München (TUM); Robeco Asset Management

Daniel Huber

Universität Hamburg

Date Written: October 14, 2019

Abstract

Recent findings for the U.S. stock market indicate that cash-based profitability measures (i.e., profitability measures that exclude accounting accruals) outperform measures of profitability that include accruals. We demonstrate that this result also holds for international markets. In a comparison of different profitability definitions, we find that a factor based on cash-based gross profitability (gross profitability adjusted for accounting accruals) subsumes other popular profitability factors based on time-series, factor-spanning, and cross-sectional asset pricing tests. We therefore propose that a profitability factor based on cash-based gross profitability should be used in international factor models.

Keywords: Factor models, Profitability, International Markets, Anomalies

JEL Classification: G11, G12, G15

Suggested Citation

Hanauer, Matthias Xaver and Huber, Daniel, Constructing a Powerful Profitability Factor: International Evidence (October 14, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3234436 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3234436

Matthias Xaver Hanauer

Technische Universität München (TUM) ( email )

Arcisstr. 21
Munich, D-80290
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.professors.wi.tum.de/fm/team/researcher/dr-matthias-hanauer-cfa/

Robeco Asset Management ( email )

Weena 850
Rotterdam, 3014 DA
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.robeco.com/en-int/about-us/matthias-hanauer

Daniel Huber (Contact Author)

Universität Hamburg ( email )

Von-Melle-Park 5
Hamburg, DE Hamburg 20146
Germany

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