Repurchase Tender Offers and Earnings Information

Abstract

Announcements of stock repurchase tender offers are examined as a source of information to the market on the firm's future earnings prospects and market risk level. We find positive average earnings surprises and equity systematic risk reductions following tender offers but not, in most instances, preceding them. We find positive stock price reactions to tender offer announcements to be positively correlated with earnings surprises over the concurrent and subsequent two years, and negatively correlated with changes in equity and firm market risk. Finally, stock price reactions to quarterly earnings announcements are more strongly correlated with time-series based earnings surprises in the year prior to the tender offer than during the subsequent year, consistent with tender offer announcements conveying earnings information to the market.

Keywords: Tender offer, stock repurchase, earnings announcement, earnings surprise, systematic risk, beta

JEL Classification: G14, G32, G35, M41