Earnings Surprises, Growth Expectations, and Stock Returns: Don't Let an Earnings Torpedo Sink Your Portfolio

59 Pages Posted: 28 Jul 1999

See all articles by Douglas J. Skinner

Douglas J. Skinner

The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Richard G. Sloan

University of Southern California - Leventhal School of Accounting

Date Written: July 1999

Abstract

It is well-established that the realized returns of ?growth? stocks have been low relative to other stocks. We show that this phenomenon is explained by a large and asymmetric response to negative earnings surprises for growth stocks. After controlling for this effect, there is no longer evidence of a stock return differential between growth stocks and other stocks. Our evidence is more consistent with investors having naively optimistic expectations about the prospects of growth stocks (e.g., Lakonishok, Shleifer, and Vishny, 1994) than with the existence of unidentified risk factors that are lower for growth stocks (e.g., Fama and French, 1992).

JEL Classification: G12, G14, M41

Suggested Citation

Skinner, Douglas J. and Sloan, Richard G., Earnings Surprises, Growth Expectations, and Stock Returns: Don't Let an Earnings Torpedo Sink Your Portfolio (July 1999). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=172060 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.172060

Douglas J. Skinner (Contact Author)

The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-702-7137 (Phone)

Richard G. Sloan

University of Southern California - Leventhal School of Accounting ( email )

Los Angeles, CA 90089-0441
United States

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