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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,944)
- People (2)
- News (411)
- Research (1,274)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (42)
- Faculty Publications (848)
- Article
Short-Termism and Capital Flows
By: Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang
During 2007–2016, S&P 500 firms distributed to shareholders $7 trillion via buybacks and dividends, over 96% of their aggregate net income, prompting claims that "short-termism" is impairing firms' ability to invest and innovate. We show that, when taking into account... View Details
Keywords: Short-termism; Quarterly Capitalism; Share Buybacks; Open Market Repurchases; Dividends; Equity Issuances; Seasoned Equity Offerings; Equity Compensastion; Acquisitions; Payout Policy; Capital Flows; Capital Distribution; Working Capital; Business and Shareholder Relations; Acquisition
Fried, Jesse M., and Charles C.Y. Wang. "Short-Termism and Capital Flows." Review of Corporate Finance Studies 8, no. 1 (March 2019): 207–233.
- March 2016
- Article
Dividends as Reference Points: A Behavioral Signaling Approach
By: Malcolm Baker, Brock Mendel and Jeffrey Wurgler
We outline a dividend signaling model that features investors who are averse to dividend cuts. Managers with strong unobservable cash earnings separate by paying high dividends but retain enough to be likely not to fall short next period. The model is consistent with a... View Details
Keywords: Investment
Baker, Malcolm, Brock Mendel, and Jeffrey Wurgler. "Dividends as Reference Points: A Behavioral Signaling Approach." Review of Financial Studies 29, no. 3 (March 2016): 697–738.
- September 2011 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
Penn Warranty Corporation
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Penn Warranty Corporation sold warranty contracts to the used car market. During the recession in 2008/2009 Penn's sales declined by 26% Instead of growing by 11% as forecasted. Also, disruptions in financial and insurance markets created a cash shortfall. In the... View Details
Ruback, Richard S., and Royce Yudkoff. "Penn Warranty Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 212-007, September 2011. (Revised from original August 2011 version.)
Signaling with Dividends
We outline a dividend signaling model that features investors who are behaviorally averse to dividend cuts. Managers with strong unobservable cash earnings separate by paying high dividends but retain enough to be likely not to fall short next period. The model is... View Details
- April 2021
- Case
Transforming BlackBerry: From Smartphones to Software
By: Ranjay Gulati and Nicole Tempest Keller
On the verge of failure, BlackBerry brought in John Chen as CEO in 2013 to orchestrate a bold turnaround of the company. Once an iconic leader in the smartphone market, BlackBerry was best known for its tactile QWERTY keyboard, strong security, and a focus on business... View Details
Keywords: Pivot; Managing Change; Turnaround; Smartphone; Change Management; Leading Change; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competitive Strategy; Cybersecurity; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; Canada
Gulati, Ranjay, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "Transforming BlackBerry: From Smartphones to Software." Harvard Business School Case 421-052, April 2021.
- 23 Apr 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Corporate Financial Policies in Misvalued Credit Markets
- 2007
- Other Unpublished Work
Say on Pay Vote and CEO Compensation: Evidence from the UK
By: Fabrizio Ferri and David Maber
In this study, we examine the effect on CEO pay of new legislation introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) at the end of 2002 that requires publicly-traded firms to submit an executive remuneration report to a non-binding shareholder vote ("say on pay") at the annual... View Details
- Article
Tax Policy and the Efficiency of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad
By: Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr.
Deferral of U.S. taxes on foreign source income is commonly characterized as a subsidy to foreign investment, as reflected in its inclusion among "tax expenditures" and occasional calls for its repeal. This paper analyzes the extent to which tax deferral and other... View Details
Keywords: International Taxation; Dynamic Efficiency; Deferral; Policy; Taxation; Performance Efficiency; Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Investment Return; Business Earnings; Equity; Financing and Loans; Cash Flow; Capital; United States
Desai, Mihir A., C. Fritz Foley, and James R. Hines Jr. "Tax Policy and the Efficiency of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad." National Tax Journal 64, no. 4 (December 2011): 1055–1082.
- February 1997 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
Smith Breeden Associates: The Equity Plus Fund (A)
By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel
In early 1997, Smith Breeden Associates, a money management and consulting firm, was pondering the future of the Equity Plus Fund. The Equity Plus Fund was an S&P enhanced-index fund that tried to outperform the S&P Index by replicating the index using low-cost... View Details
Keywords: Assets; Cash; Financial Markets; Financial Strategy; Mortgages; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry
Merton, Robert C., and Alberto Moel. "Smith Breeden Associates: The Equity Plus Fund (A)." Harvard Business School Case 297-089, February 1997. (Revised March 1998.)
- Teaching Interest
Finance II (MBA Required Curriculum)
By: Benjamin C. Esty
This course builds on the foundation developed in Finance I, focusing on three sets of managerial decisions:
- How to evaluate complex investments.
- How to set and execute financial policies within a firm.
- How to integrate... View Details
Keywords: Finance
- 2022
- Working Paper
Heterogeneous Investors and Stock Market Fluctuations
By: Odhrain McCarthy and Sebastian Hillenbrand
We introduce a heterogeneous agent model which features extrapolative beliefs and time-varying risk aversion. The model leads to an empirical framework which we estimate with stock prices, survey data and risk aversion measures. We find that extrapolative beliefs and... View Details
McCarthy, Odhrain, and Sebastian Hillenbrand. "Heterogeneous Investors and Stock Market Fluctuations." Working Paper, January 2022.
- August 2017 (Revised December 2017)
- Case
Accounting for Nuclear Power Provisions at RWE
By: Paul Healy and Jonas Heese
In early 2016, RWE, a utility that operates nuclear power plants in Germany, came under scrutiny from regulators and the media over the adequacy of its provisions for costs of decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) its nuclear power plants. Accounting standards required... View Details
Keywords: Liabilities; Provisions For Long-term Obligations; Discounting; Accounting; Energy Generation; Energy Industry; Germany
Healy, Paul, and Jonas Heese. "Accounting for Nuclear Power Provisions at RWE." Harvard Business School Case 118-013, August 2017. (Revised December 2017.)
- October 2022 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Founders First Capital Partners: An Approach to Capital Access Equity
By: Brian Trelstad, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein
In June 2021, Kim T. Folsom, the founder and CEO of revenue-based financing firm Founders First Capital Partners (FFCP), must decide whether to issue another loan to OnShore Technology Group, an up-and-coming software validation company. FFCP provided revenue-based... View Details
Keywords: Finance; Financial Instruments; Financing and Loans; Interest Rates; Investment Return; Revenue; Capital; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States
Trelstad, Brian, Mel Martin, and Amy Klopfenstein. "Founders First Capital Partners: An Approach to Capital Access Equity." Harvard Business School Case 323-013, October 2022. (Revised January 2025.)
- Article
Valuation of Bankrupt Firms
By: S. C. Gilson, E. S. Hotchkiss and R. S. Ruback
This study compares the market value of firms that reorganize in bankruptcy with estimates of value based on management's published cash flow projections. We estimate firm values using models that have been shown in other contexts to generate relatively precise... View Details
Gilson, S. C., E. S. Hotchkiss, and R. S. Ruback. "Valuation of Bankrupt Firms." Review of Financial Studies 13, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 43–74. (Abridged version reprinted in The Journal of Corporate Renewal 13, no. 7 (July 2000))
- 2021
- Working Paper
Granular Corporate Hedging Under Dominant Currency
By: Laura Alfaro, Mauricio Calani and Liliana Varela
Foreign currency use can be a source of risk associated with currency mismatches, which firms can hedge using FX derivatives. This paper uncovers five novel facts about firms’ use of foreign currency (FX) derivatives employing a unique dataset covering the universe of... View Details
Alfaro, Laura, Mauricio Calani, and Liliana Varela. "Granular Corporate Hedging Under Dominant Currency." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 28910, June 2021. (Revised July 2022.)
- March 2012 (Revised September 2012)
- Case
INRIX
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Ryan Johnson
Since its founding in 2004, INRIX, a leading global provider of traffic information and driver services, had received four rounds of financing from leading venture capital (VC) firms and by 2012 had been cash flow positive for the past six quarters. Its founder, Bryan... View Details
- Research Summary
Corporate Control and Valuation
Richard S. Ruback's research and course development focus on applied corporate finance-in particular, corporate control transactions and valuation. His research on corporate control has yielded case studies on major transactions, such as the View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
Do Banks Have an Edge?
By: Juliane Begenau and Erik Stafford
Overall, no! We show that the level and time series variation in cash flows for most bank activities are well matched by capital market portfolios with similar interest rate and credit risk to what banks report to hold. Ignoring operating expenses, bank loans earn high... View Details
Keywords: Banks; Market Efficiency; Bank Capital; Bank Debt; CAPM; Banking; Bank Deposits; Bank Funding Advantage; Leverage; Maturity Transformation; Replicating Portfolio; Efficiency; Banks and Banking; Capital Markets; Performance Evaluation; Performance Efficiency; Banking Industry; United States
Begenau, Juliane, and Erik Stafford. "Do Banks Have an Edge?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-060, January 2018. (Revised October 2019.)
- 2012
- Working Paper
Can Implicit Regulation Change Financial Market Behavior? Evidence from Spitzer's Attack on Market Timers
This paper explores a natural experiment setup from the 2003-2004 mutual fund scandals to evaluate the effectiveness of implicit regulation on financial markets behavior. On average, buy-and-hold investors lost 218 basis points annually from 1998 to 2002 to market... View Details
- December 2008 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
Rosetree Mortgage Opportunity Fund
By: Victoria Ivashina and Andre F. Perold
In December 2008, in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Rosetree Capital Management was evaluating the purchase of a pool of U.S. residential mortgages. The firm had formed an investment vehicle to acquire troubled residential mortgages... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Mortgages; Investment; Housing; Valuation; United States
Ivashina, Victoria, and Andre F. Perold. "Rosetree Mortgage Opportunity Fund." Harvard Business School Case 209-088, December 2008. (Revised March 2009.)