Tobin's Q at the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1890-2016: An Historical Examination of the Efficacy of Strategy
36 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2018
Date Written: January 17, 2018
Abstract
Tobin’s Q was studied for 127 years at the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) with qualitative and quantitative methods. Restrictive government-imposed freight rates, competition from trucks and cars, and changes to the demand for railway services led the CPR to diversify into unrelated businesses. CPR’s modified Q value was explained positively and significantly by its profitability (net income divided by total revenue) and negatively and significantly by its diversification strategy (percent of sales from unrelated businesses). The average modified Q value was 0.98 over the 127 years.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Spraakman, Gary and Fafatas, Stephan, Tobin's Q at the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1890-2016: An Historical Examination of the Efficacy of Strategy (January 17, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3103010 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3103010
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