Accounting and Finance Department Research Seminar
The Department of Accounting & Finance announces the following research seminar.
Speaker: Professor of Accounting Mark Bradshaw (Boston College)
Title: Unlocking Analysts’ Risk Insights
Date: Friday, April 10, 2026
Time: 9:30 -10:45 AM
Location: via Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 438 755 1509
Abstract: We apply textual analysis to a large sample of analyst reports on U.S. firms to investigate the determinants, relevance and informativeness of analysts’ risk discussions. We find that these discussions are driven predominantly by analyst fixed effects, followed by firm fixed effects. Consistent with informativeness of analysts’ risk discussions, we find they are positively related to future stock return volatility and implied cost of capital for the underlying firms and negatively related to earnings forecast accuracy. Additionally, risk discussions relate negatively to future stock returns and positively to credit rating changes, consistent with informativeness to both equity and bond markets. Cross-sectional analysis shows that the above effects are more pronounced for firms with weaker information environments. Taken together, analysts’ qualitative risk commentary offers incremental insights into a firm’s risk exposure and enhances the predictive value of analyst research to capital markets.
For additional information, please contact Prof. Hongkang Xu at hxu5@umassd.edu.
Zoom
Hongkang Xu
5089999187
hxu5@umassd.edu