Whether corporate diversification decreases or increases the risk of the diversifying firm is an important empirical question. We investigate this issue using a sample of diversifying acquisitions and various risk measures. We find that corporate diversification tends to decrease the risk of...

We investigate the impact of the likeability and pronounceability of stock ticker symbols on firm value. Using a unique, comprehensive dataset with hand-collected ratings of ticker symbols, we find that higher likeability of ticker symbols leads to higher Tobin's Q. The pronounceability of...

We investigate the role of labor unions in the performance of venture capital (VC)-backed firms. Using a large sample of initial public offering firms from 1983 to 2013, we find that VC-backed firms in highly unionized industries have lower Tobin's Q and are less likely to survive. This effect...

How stock price synchronicity mirrors firm-specific information has been a subject of much debate. We posit that price synchronicity can be low in either good or bad firm-specific information environments because stock prices incorporate both public and private information. Using three proxies...

We investigate the possibility that the diversification discount is due to differing growth opportunities between diversified and single-segment firms. We do this by comparing diversified business segments with individual single-segment same-industry firms of comparable growth opportunities....