Publications

June 2004
Article

A Catering Theory of Dividends

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

We propose that the decision to pay dividends is driven by prevailing investor demand for dividend payers. Managers cater to investors by paying dividends when investors put a stock price premium on payers, and by not paying when investors prefer nonpayers. To test... View Details

Keywords: Dividends; Catering; Financial Instruments; Investment Return; Business and Shareholder Relations

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September 1987 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Patten Corp.

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Forbes Magazine criticized the revenue recognition policy of Patten Corp. As a result, the company's stock price dropped by a significant amount. The students are asked to discuss if the criticism by Forbes is justified, and if not, what the company should do. View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Statements; Budgets and Budgeting; Problems and Challenges; Financial Condition; Spending; Revenue; Planning; Quality; Stocks; Journalism and News Industry

April 1996 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Times Mirror Company PEPS Proposal Review

By: Peter Tufano

Times Mirror Co. (TMC) owns a substantial block of Netscape common stock purchased prior to Netscape's IPO, on which it has substantial unrealized gains. TMC is restricted from selling the stock in a public offering and is therefore considering a proposal by Morgan... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Stocks; Taxation; Corporate Finance; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

2023
Working Paper

The Equity Market Implications of the Retail Investment Boom

By: Philippe van der Beck and Coralie Jaunin

This paper quantifies the impact of Robinhood traders on the US equity market. Within a structural model, we estimate retail and institutional demand curves and derive aggregate pricing implications via market clearing. The inelastic nature of institutional demand... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Investing; Financial Markets; Price; Financial Instruments

SSRN

September 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Supplement

Citigroup's Exchange Offer (C)

By: Robin Greenwood and James Quinn

Citigroup faced considerable distress in early 2009. In late 2008, the bank had accepted $45 billion in preferred equity from the United States government via the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Yet, the stock had continued to slide in early 2009. In late... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Financial Services Industry

March 1996 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Global Equity Markets: The Case of Royal Dutch and Shell

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Andre F. Perold

Royal Dutch and Shell common stocks are securities with linked cash flow, so that the ratio of their stock prices should be fixed. In fact, the ratio is highly variable, moving with the markets where the securities are intensively traded. Royal Dutch trades more... View Details

Keywords: International Equity Markets; International Cost Of Capital; Cross-border Valuation; International Finance; Equity; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Cash Flow

04 Dec 2010
News

Gregg Steinhafel has faced up to many challenges as Target CEO

15 Feb 2020
News

Hedge fund fuels ‘concerns for our friends at Evergy’

November 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Yahoo!'s Stock-Based Compensation

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Amy Maislos, an investor in Internet and technology companies, was excited to read that Yahoo! had reported a positive net income for 1998 operations. During the late 1990s, stock prices of Internet companies had risen rapidly even though most companies were reporting... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Internet and the Web; Financial Statements; Corporate Disclosure; Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Information Technology Industry

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11 Oct 2013
News

Tylenol Killings Remain Unsolved and Unforgotten After 30 Years

06 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, March 6, 2018

limitations associated with the use of online prices for PPPs, including issues of representativeness and limited coverage of product categories and countries. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54121... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1996
Case

Del Webb Corporation (B), The

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

On November 16, 1987, the Del Webb board appointed Phil Dion chairman and CEO. This case outlines the development and implementation of a strategy to focus exclusively on real estate development and to liquidate all other assets. Discusses the appointment of two new... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Real Estate Industry

31 Aug 2020
Working Paper Summaries

The Pass-Through of Uncertainty Shocks to Households

Keywords: by Marco Di Maggio, Amir Kermani, Rodney Ramcharan, Vincent Yao, and Edison Yu

09 Aug 2010
News

Another View: It's Time to Invest in America

June 2007 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Nextel Partners: Put Option

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Douglas Scott

Nextel Partners' shareholders have voted to exercise a put option that will require the company's largest shareholder, Sprint Nextel Corp., to purchase all the shares it does not already own. However, the put option does not stipulate a price to be paid, but rather a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Stock Options; Price; Public Ownership; Valuation

Article

Market Integration in Developed and Emerging Markets: Evidence from the CAPM

By: Robert Bruner, Wei Li, Mark Kritzman, Simon Myrgren and Sebastien Page

Beta, as measured by the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), is widely used for pricing stocks, determining the cost of capital, and gauging the extent to which markets are integrated. The CAPM model assumes that equilibrium conditions prevail. The choice of which... View Details

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March 1989 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Philip Morris Companies and Kraft, Inc.

By: Richard S. Ruback

Gives students the opportunity to explore the effect of substantial free cash flow on corporate acquisition and operating strategies. Students are also given the opportunity to extract information from the common stock prices of the participating firms. A variety of... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Strategic Planning; Acquisition; Strategy; Restructuring; Valuation; Stocks

25 Jan 2016
News

From Pepsi to Target: Industry leaders worth betting on

March 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Supply Chain Close-Up: The Video Vault

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

The owners of the Video Vault struggle to determine the optimal stocking levels of home videos in an industry fraught with new technology, new pricing paradigms, and stiff competitive pressure from large national chains. Teaching Purpose: To demonstrate the role of... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Competition; Motivation and Incentives; Price; Technological Innovation; Service Delivery; Entertainment and Recreation Industry