This paper examines whether customer base composition in the U.S., i.e., whether a firm's major customers comprise of government entities or publicly traded companies, affects the properties of supplier's management earnings forecasts. Using a sample of 1,168 management earnings forecasts from...

We find that CEOs issue significantly more favorable management earnings forecasts (MEFs), relative to the prevailing analyst consensus, to boost stock prices when approaching performance evaluation end dates. The effect is more pronounced for firms with lower past stock returns and when award...