R&D Investments, Capital Expenditures, and Earnings Thresholds
Canace Thomas., Jackson, Scott. and Ma, Tao, R&D Investments, Capital Expenditures, and Earnings Thresholds. Review of Accounting Studies 23(1): 265 - 295, 2018
Posted: 2 Mar 2020
Date Written: September 4, 2017
Abstract
Prior studies find that firms cut research and development (R&D) expense in response to earnings considerations. We extend this stream of research by documenting that firms narrowly achieving an earnings threshold also report unusually high capital expenditures. In addition, these firms’ total investments (R&D expense plus capital expenditures) do not vary in response to earnings thresholds, which suggests that, on average, reductions in R&D expense are offset by concurrent increases in capital expenditures. Lastly, our research design allows us to infer that the increased capital expenditures are largely R&D investments that are capitalized instead of non-R&D capital expenditures, suggesting that overall investments in R&D are relatively unchanged.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation