Earnings Volatility and Earnings Predictability

Abstract

This study, using Dechew and Tang's (2009) framework, takes data from the firms listed in the Tehran stock exchange (TSE) in the period from 2000 to 2006 to analyze the relationship between Earnings volatility and earnings predictability. Results indicate widely held managerial beliefs that earnings volatility is negatively related to earnings predictability. In addition, we find that the consideration of earnings volatility brings substantial improvements in the prediction of both short- and long-term earnings. Conditioning on volatility information also allows identifying implications of earnings volatility for earnings predictability.

Keywords

• earnings volatility
• earnings predictability
• earning persistence
• time horizon