When Investors Can Talk to Firms, Is It a Meaningful Conversation? Evidence from Investor Postings on Interactive Platforms

Abstract

We investigate postings on two unique online interactive platforms by investors around earnings announcements of publicly listed firms in China. We find posting volumes on the platforms increase around earnings announcement dates, suggesting that investors acquire firm-specific information via the interactive platforms. This relation is stronger for firms with higher reply rates or more timely replies, for firms with fewer shares held by institutional investors, for firms with larger information asymmetry, and when market uncertainty is higher. Furthermore, the positive association between posting volumes and earnings announcements is more pronounced for firms with smaller Baidu search volumes. This suggests a substitution relationship in collecting information between asking listed firms questions directly and searching online. Finally, our evidence suggests that questions posted around earnings announcements accelerate the price discovery of earnings and attenuate post-earnings announcement drift and stock price synchronicity.