Cash Flow Sensitivity Analysis of Energy Companies

Abstract

If financial markets are efficient, companies can easily access finance. However, due to market frictions in financial markets, it is often not easy to find suitable financing sources for investments. As a result of the market frictions, the growth of national economies slows down. In this study, this problem will be addressed for energy companies. In other words, we examine whether energy companies are faced with financial constraints using the data of energy companies in 13 selected countries between the years 2010-2021. The results show that cash flows created by energy companies in 7 countries are effective in financing their investments. High cash flows and increased investments resulting from fluctuations in energy prices may also indicate that companies exhibit excessive investment behavior due to agency problems. On the other hand, all stakeholders need to make timely investments in the energy sector compared to other industries to support energy policies and increase social welfare.