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07 Nov 2012Working Paper Summaries

Causes and Consequences of Linguistic Complexity in Non-US Firm Conference Calls

by Francois Brochet, Patricia Naranjo and Gwen Yu
Does the form in which financial information is presented have consequences for the capital markets? The authors examine the level of linguistic complexity of more than 11,000 conference call transcripts from non-US firms between 2002 and 2010. Findings show that the linguistic complexity of calls varies with country-level factors such as language barriers, but also with firm characteristics. Firms with more linguistic complexity in their conference calls show less trading volume and price movement following the information releases. Overall, these results may be useful to foreign firms that wish to communicate with investors globally. Analysts and investors around the world may also find the results helpful since they might be able to push managers to speak in a less complex manner. This study is the first to analyze conference calls in a cross-country setting. Key concepts include:
  • Language barriers are a significant determinant of linguistic complexity in foreign firm's information disclosure.
  • Linguistic complexity in information disclosures can be associated with lower information content, as measured by abnormal stock return volatility and trading volume.
  • The effect is significant when there is greater (i) implicit (as captured by the presence of foreign investors) or (ii) explicit (as captured by how actively analysts ask questions) demand for the information disclosure.

Author Abstract

We examine the determinants and capital market consequences of linguistic complexity in conference calls held in English by non-U.S. firms. We find that linguistic complexity is positively associated with the language barrier in the firms' home country. Also, linguistic complexity in firms' conference calls affects the extent to which the capital market reacts to the information releases. Firms with more linguistic complexity in their conference calls show less trading volume and price movement following the information releases, after controlling for the actual earnings news. Further, the capital market's response to linguistic complexity is more pronounced when there is greater implicit (as captured by the presence of foreign investors) or explicit (as captured by how actively analysts ask questions) demand for the English conference calls. This suggests that the form in which financial information is presented can impose additional processing costs by limiting investors' ability to interpret the reported financials.

Paper Information

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