The private securities litigation reform act and post-earnings announcement drift

Abstract

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act protects firms against litigation stemming from forward-looking statements. This paper considers whether these protections contribute to post-earnings announcement drift. The results did not suggest that the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements contributes to a delayed price reaction. However, the results provide evidence that backward-looking statements are associated with a delayed price response. This result is consistent with Bernard and Thomas (1990) suggestion that post-earnings announcement drift is caused by investors not fully understanding how current earnings map into future earnings. Overall, the results suggests that the PSLRA does not contribute to post-earnings announcement drift. Further, the results have practical implications for firms. Managers should focus their prepared remarks on the prior performance of the firm and focus their responses during the question-and-answer session on the future performance of the firm.