The transmission of corporate financial information across national borders and equity market linkages

Although intra-industry earnings information transfers have been documented within individual nations, little or no attention has been given to examining whether these transfers also exist across national boundaries. This study sets out to investigate the issue by analyzing the abnormal stock market returns of British firms at the time of annual earnings announcements by U.S. corporations and the returns of U.S. firms at the time of profit announcements by British companies. Information transfers are also tested by examining whether earnings surprises of companies in one country are related to revisions in investment analysts' consensus profit forecasts of non-reporting firms in the other country. The accuracies of revisions in consensus earnings estimates are investigated. Evidence of transnational information transfers from the United States to Britain is found and the degree and level of the signal is related to various firm and industry characteristics including correlations in reported profits.