Does Stock Liquidity Shape Voluntary Disclosure? Evidence from the SEC Tick Size Pilot Program

Abstract

Employing the SEC Tick Size Pilot Program that increases the minimum trading unit of a set of randomly selected small-capitalization stocks, we examine whether and how an exogenous change in stock liquidity affects corporate voluntary disclosure. Using difference-in-differences analyses with firm fixed effects, we find that treatment firms respond to the liquidity decline by issuing fewer management earnings forecasts, while in contrast, control firms do not exhibit a significant change. Next, we show that the effect is more pronounced when firms experience more severe liquidity decreases during the TSPP and rule out a set of alternative explanations. Further strengthening the identification, we find a consistent reversal effect after the end of the pilot program. To generalize our findings, we use voluntary 8-K filings and conference calls as alternative voluntary disclosure proxies and find similar effects. Overall, these findings show how an exogenous change in stock liquidity shapes the corporate information environment.

Keywords: Stock liquidity, voluntary disclosure, management guidance, management earnings forecasts, SEC Tick Size Pilot Program

JEL Classification: G10, G14, G18, G30, G38, M10, M40, M41, M48