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The Determinants and Implications of Corporate Cash Holdings
TL;DR: The authors examined the determinants and implications of holdings of cash and marketable securities by publicly traded U.S. firms in the 1971-1994 period and found that firms with strong growth opportunities and riskier cash flows hold relatively high ratios of cash to total assets.
Abstract: We examine the determinants and implications of holdings of cash and marketable" securities by publicly traded U.S. firms in the 1971-1994 period. Firms with strong growth" opportunities and riskier cash flows hold relatively high ratios of cash to total assets. Firms" that have the greatest access to the capital markets (e.g. large firms and those with credit" ratings) tend to hold lower ratios of cash to total assets. These results are consistent with the" view that firms hold liquid assets to ensure that they will be able to keep investing when cash" flow is too low relative to planned investment and when outside funds are expensive. The" short run impact of excess cash on capital expenditures, acquisition spending and payouts to" shareholders is small. The main reason that firms experience large changes in excess cash is" the occurrence of operating losses. There is no evidence that risk management and cash" holdings are substitutes.
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TL;DR: This paper found that higher sensitivity of CEO wealth to stock volatility (vega) implements riskier policy choices, including relatively more investment in R&D, less investment in PPE, more focus, and higher leverage.
2,476 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors collected detailed qualitative information from financial filings to categorize financial constraints for a random sample of firms from 1995 to 2004, and used ordered logit models predicting constraints as a function of different quantitative factors.
Abstract: We collect detailed qualitative information from financial filings to categorize financial constraints for a random sample of firms from 1995 to 2004. Using this categorization, we estimate ordered logit models predicting constraints as a function of different quantitative factors. Our findings cast serious doubt on the validity of the KZ index as a measure of financial constraints, while offering mixed evidence on the validity of other common measures of constraints. We find that firm size and age are particularly useful predictors of financial constraint levels, and we propose a measure of financial constraints that is based solely on these firm characteristics.
2,102 citations
TL;DR: The average cash-to-assets ratio for U.S. industrial firms more than doubled from 1980 to 2006 as mentioned in this paper, and the average firm can pay back all of its debt obligations with its cash holdings; in other words, the average firms has no leverage if leverage is measured as net debt.
Abstract: The average cash-to-assets ratio for U.S. industrial firms more than doubles from 1980 to 2006. A measure of the economic importance of this increase in cash holdings is that at the end of the sample period, the average firm can pay back all of its debt obligations with its cash holdings; in other words, the average firm has no leverage if leverage is measured as net debt. This change in cash ratios and net debt is the result of a secular trend rather than the outcome of the recent buildup in cash holdings of some large firms, and it is much more pronounced for firms that do not pay dividends and for firms in industries whose cash flows became riskier. The average cash ratio increases over the sample period because firms change: their cash flows become riskier, they hold fewer inventories and accounts receivable, and they are increasingly RD in contrast, in our empirical tests, agency considerations are not successful in explaining the increase.
2,016 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of cash management is developed and used to identify a sample of cash-rich firms, and the acquisition behavior of these firms is examined for evidence of free cash flow-related behavior.
Abstract: The acquisition behavior of cash-rich firms is examined for evidence of free cash flow-related behavior. A model of cash management is developed and used to identify a sample of cash-rich firms. The model provides a benchmark "normal" level of cash reserves based on industry characteristics and dynamic cash management over time. Cash-rich firms are found to be more likely to begin acquisitions, increase current acquisition spending, and engage in large acquisitions than the rest of the population of firms. In a multivariate setting, cash- richness is a strong predictor of acquisition likelihood, even controlling for sales growth and stock price performance. Additional tests support the free cash flow hypothesis over a hypothesis in which managers optimally stockpile cash before an acquisition. Among cash- rich firms, the decision to spend the cash on an acquisition rather than pay it out is strongly related to how well the agency conflict between managers and owners is controlled. Further, the abnormal return from an acquisition announcement is decreasing in the deviation of a firm's cash reserves from its predicted optimal level. Cash-rich firms are more likely to make diversifying acquisitions and their targets are less likely to attract other bidders. Overall, the evidence supports the explanatory power of the free cash flow hypothesis for the investment decisions of cash-rich firms.
1,604 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate how corporate governance impacts firm value by examining both the value and the use of cash holdings in poorly and well governed firms, and show that firms with poor corporate governance dissipate cash quickly and in ways that significantly reduce operating performance.
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate how corporate governance impacts firm value by examining both the value and the use of cash holdings in poorly and well governed firms. Cash represents a large and growing fraction of corporate assets and generally is at the discretion of management. We use several measures of corporate governance and show that governance has a substantial impact on firm value through its impact on cash: $1.00 of cash in a poorly governed firm is valued by the market at only $0.42 to $0.88, depending on the measure of governance. Good governance approximately doubles this value of cash. Furthermore, governance has a significant impact on how firms use cash. We show that firms with poor corporate governance dissipate cash quickly and in ways that significantly reduce operating performance. This negative impact of large cash holdings on future operating performance is cancelled out if the firm is well governed. All of our results hold after controlling for the level of acquisitions undertaken by cash rich firms, indicating that acquisitions are not solely responsible for the value destruction in poorly governed, cash rich firms. The findings presented in this paper provide direct evidence of how governance can improve or destroy firm value and insight into the importance of governance in determining corporate cash policy.
1,554 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a parameter covariance matrix estimator which is consistent even when the disturbances of a linear regression model are heteroskedastic is presented, which does not depend on a formal model of the structure of the heteroSkewedness.
Abstract: This paper presents a parameter covariance matrix estimator which is consistent even when the disturbances of a linear regression model are heteroskedastic. This estimator does not depend on a formal model of the structure of the heteroskedasticity. By comparing the elements of the new estimator to those of the usual covariance estimator, one obtains a direct test for heteroskedasticity, since in the absence of heteroskedasticity, the two estimators will be approximately equal, but will generally diverge otherwise. The test has an appealing least squares interpretation.
25,689 citations
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01 Jan 1936
TL;DR: In this article, a general theory of the rate of interest was proposed, and the subjective and objective factors of the propensity to consume and the multiplier were considered, as well as the psychological and business incentives to invest.
Abstract: Part I. Introduction: 1. The general theory 2. The postulates of the classical economics 3. The principle of effective demand Part II. Definitions and Ideas: 4. The choice of units 5. Expectation as determining output and employment 6. The definition of income, saving and investment 7. The meaning of saving and investment further considered Part III. The Propensity to Consume: 8. The propensity to consume - i. The objective factors 9. The propensity to consume - ii. The subjective factors 10. The marginal propensity to consume and the multiplier Part IV. The Inducement to Invest: 11. The marginal efficiency of capital 12. The state of long-term expectation 13. The general theory of the rate of interest 14. The classical theory of the rate of interest 15. The psychological and business incentives to liquidity 16. Sundry observations on the nature of capital 17. The essential properties of interest and money 18. The general theory of employment re-stated Part V. Money-wages and Prices: 19. Changes in money-wages 20. The employment function 21. The theory of prices Part VI. Short Notes Suggested by the General Theory: 22. Notes on the trade cycle 23. Notes on mercantilism, the usury laws, stamped money and theories of under-consumption 24. Concluding notes on the social philosophy towards which the general theory might lead.
15,146 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between average return and risk for New York Stock Exchange common stocks was tested using a two-parameter portfolio model and models of market equilibrium derived from the two parameter portfolio model.
Abstract: This paper tests the relationship between average return and risk for New York Stock Exchange common stocks. The theoretical basis of the tests is the "two-parameter" portfolio model and models of market equilibrium derived from the two-parameter portfolio model. We cannot reject the hypothesis of these models that the pricing of common stocks reflects the attempts of risk-averse investors to hold portfolios that are "efficient" in terms of expected value and dispersion of return. Moreover, the observed "fair game" properties of the coefficients and residuals of the risk-return regressions are consistent with an "efficient capital market"--that is, a market where prices of securities
14,171 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors predict that corporate borrowing is inversely related to the proportion of market value accounted for by real options and rationalize other aspects of corporate borrowing behavior, such as the practice of matching maturities of assets and debt liabilities.
12,521 citations
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TL;DR: This paper provides a concise overview of time series analysis in the time and frequency domains with lots of references for further reading.
Abstract: Any series of observations ordered along a single dimension, such as time, may be thought of as a time series. The emphasis in time series analysis is on studying the dependence among observations at different points in time. What distinguishes time series analysis from general multivariate analysis is precisely the temporal order imposed on the observations. Many economic variables, such as GNP and its components, price indices, sales, and stock returns are observed over time. In addition to being interested in the contemporaneous relationships among such variables, we are often concerned with relationships between their current and past values, that is, relationships over time.
9,919 citations