← Search

Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 80 No. 1 2025

Signaling long-term information using short-term forecasts

Mirko S. Heinle1; Chongho Kim2; Daniel J. Taylor1; Frank Zhou1

1 University of Pennsylvania · 2 Seoul National University

open access

Abstract

This paper shows theoretically and empirically that the decision to disclose a short-term earnings forecast can reveal managers’ private information about long-term performance. Consistent with the predictions of our model, we find that the decision to disclose a short-term earnings forecast predicts long-term performance for up to three years. The relation strengthens when current period performance is poor, when managers have longer horizons, and when competitive threats are lower. Endogenizing the proprietary costs of disclosure, our analysis suggests that––despite the short horizon––the decision to provide an earnings forecast contains significant information about long-term performance and thus can entail proprietary costs.

DOI
10.1016/j.jacceco.2025.101768
Volume
80
Issue
1
Pages
101768
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

Cite