Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Pages: 608-628

Journal: Decision Sciences: A Journal of the Decision Sciences Institute

Volume number: 52

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 0011-7315

eISSN: 1540-5915

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12346

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
This article provides a holistic study of how stock prices vary in their response to financial disclosures across different topics. Thereby, we specifically shed light into the extensive amount of filings for which no a priori categorization of their content exists. For this purpose, we utilize an approach from data mining-namely, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA)-as a means of topic modeling. This technique facilitates our task of automatically categorizing, ex ante, the content of more than 70,000 regulatory 8-K filings from U.S. companies. We then evaluate the subsequent stock market reaction. Our empirical evidence suggests a considerable discrepancy among various types of news stories in terms of their relevance and impact on financial markets. For instance, we find a statistically significant abnormal return in response to earnings results and credit rating, but also for disclosures regarding business strategy, the health sector, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Our results yield findings that benefit managers, investors, and policy-makers by indicating how regulatory filings should be structured and the topics most likely to precede changes in stock valuations.

Harvard Citation style: Feuerriegel, S. and Pröllochs, N. (2021) Investor Reaction to Financial Disclosures across Topics: An Application of Latent Dirichlet Allocation, Decision Sciences, 52(3), pp. 608-628. https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12346

APA Citation style: Feuerriegel, S., & Pröllochs, N. (2021). Investor Reaction to Financial Disclosures across Topics: An Application of Latent Dirichlet Allocation. Decision Sciences. 52(3), 608-628. https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12346