Reinganum (1990) reports that small NYSE securities have average returns about 6% per year higher than those of similarly-sized NASDAQ securities during the 1973–1988 period. He attributes the return differential to market microstructure differences. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that differences in the characteristics of the companies listed on the two exchanges explain much of the disparity. About 60% of the return differential can be attributed to the poor performance of recent initial public offerings, which comprise a large portion of the firms on NASDAQ. On average, IPOs underperform during the six calendar years after going public.

Form S-1 is the first SEC filing in the initial public offering (IPO) process. The tone of the S-1, in terms of its definitiveness in characterizing the firm’s business strategy and operations, should affect investors’ ability to value the IPO. We find that IPOs with high levels of uncertain text have higher first-day returns, absolute offer price revisions, and subsequent volatility. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the theoretical models of uncertainty, bookbuilding, and prospect theory.

Our paper examines the impact of geographic location on liquidity for U.S. rural- and urban-based companies. Even after adjusting for size and other factors, rural firms trade much less, are covered by fewer analysts, and are owned by fewer institutions than urban firms. Trading costs are higher for rural Nasdaq firms, and volume that can be attributed to marketwide factors is lower for rural stocks. The findings add to our understanding of the way that access to information and familiarity affect liquidity.