‘Other information’ as an explanatory factor for the opposite market reactions to earnings surprises

Abstract

Positive (negative) earnings surprises do not necessarily generate positive (negative) market reactions. In our sample from 1990 to 2010, the market reacts negatively to 42 % of firms that meet or beat analyst forecasts and positively to 41 % of firms that miss analyst forecasts. We empirically tests whether ‘other information’, in part, accounts for the opposite sign between market reactions and earnings surprises. Our results indicate that ‘other information’ is a significant explanatory factor for the opposite market reactions to earnings surprises, and that its explanatory power is greater when investors become skeptical of the reliability of earnings information. We also find that other information facilitates investors’ assessments for earnings information because the market under-reaction to earnings information decreases in the availability of other information disseminated to investors. Investors, however, do not fully comprehend other information and tend to overestimate the persistence of other information for future earnings.