We explore whether disclosures in the Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) have spillover effects for investment and investment efficiency, and whether spillover effects vary with competition. We focus on the tone of MD&A disclosures and document that the association between a company's investments and the tone of its rivals' MD&A disclosures is positive. Moreover, this association is moderated by competition; it is stronger when firms operate in industries that have lower entry costs, are larger, and have less substitutable products. We obtain similar results for investment efficiency. Overall, our evidence suggests that MD&A disclosures have spillover effects for investment that can improve investment efficiency, and that spillover effects are moderated by industry competition.

This study analyzes the information conveyed by the restatements of financial reports. We argue that restatements contain news about the investment projects of the restating firms' competitors. This news causes competitors to revise their beliefs about the projects' value, and to modify their subsequent investment decisions. Accordingly, we hypothesize that changes in competitors' investments after restatement announcements are related to news in the restatements. Consistent with our prediction, we find that changes in competitors' investments following restatement announcements are significantly related to various proxies for news in the restatements, such as competitors' and restating firms' abnormal returns at the restatement announcements. We conclude that restatements convey information about the investment projects of restating firms' competitors.