Reactions to Profit Warnings at the Stockholm Stock Exchange

Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine how profit warnings affect company valuation on companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and what factors contribute to the valuation effects. Using an event study approach, we compute the cumulative abnormal returns following profit warnings between 2016 and 2022. Our findings show that companies issuing profit warnings experience substantial abnormal returns at the time of the announcement but that there are no cumulative abnormal returns the days after the issuance of profit warnings. Company-specific characteristics and properties of profit warnings do not explain the abnormal returns. However, the state of the business cycle does. The study provides insight into what factors mediate the market participants’ reaction to profit warnings. Also, it considers how current market contingencies impact abnormal returns the days after profit warnings are released. A key limitation is that the study does not consider the financial information disclosed in the profit warnings in any quantitative detail. The results of the study are partly inconsistent with previous studies on profit warnings regarding the effects of company-specific characteristics, properties of profit warnings, and abnormal returns after the issuance of profit warnings.