Share Prices, Performance Information of Financial Statements and Shareholders’ Investment Decisions

Abstract

Financial statements, being the representations of the management primarily to the shareholders as their employers are expected to attract a reaction in line with the proprietary theoretical framework. This study was borne out of the quest to assess the reliance of the common stockholders on the financial statement information with respect to profitability and stock prices in their investment decisions. Ten money deposit banks in Nigeria were studied using the expost facto research design and multiple regression analytical technique. The results showed that shareholders’ investment decisions in banks rely considerably on stock prices information and financial statement information on profitability with respect to returns on assets at the lag length of one year. It was therefore concluded that financial statements, in practical terms, remain the guide for investors in their quest to see what transpires within organizations; and information on stock prices are also relevant to investment decisions since they complement opinions on the financial statements. Hence, the study recommended that organizations’ management, policymakers, governments and accounting bodies at large should treat the issues bothering on financial reporting with all sense of importance since they are capable of influencing economic decisions and their influence on the capital market is certain.