The Impact of Firm Characteristics on Corporate Financial Performance in Emerging Markets

This study investigates the impact of firm characteristics on the financial performance of companies listed on the Egyptian stock market. Regression model was performed to regress six firm characteristics variables, namely firm size, foreign listing, age, leverage, liquidity, and assets tangibility. The study controlled for five more variables related to corporate governance including board size, board independence, CEO role duality, audit committee, and the quality of external auditor to avert their effect on financial performance. The study used both accounting measures such as return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) and market-based Tobin's Q Ratio for measuring financial performance. The findings generally indicate that firm characteristics have an impact on both accounting financial performance as measured by ROA or ROE and market-based financial performance as measured by Tobin's Q, with little difference in the level of such impact. These findings revealed that firm characteristics affect corporate financial performance as evaluated by the company or the market.