Publications

October 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Toni Sacconaghi at Sanford C. Bernstein

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana Teppert

Toni Sacconaghi, a senior sell-side equity research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein covering U.S. IT hardware companies, thinks about the challenges and opportunities presented by the firm's new office in Hong Kong. Sacconaghi was previously the only analyst covering... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Research; Social and Collaborative Networks; Financial Services Industry; Hong Kong; United States

June 2010
Article

Star Power: Colleague Quality and Turnover

By: Boris Groysberg and Linda Eling-Lee

In this article, we argue that the existence of greater organizational resources, in the form of higher quality colleagues, acts as a retention mechanism. We test our hypotheses using a panel data set of securities analysts in 24 securities firms over a 9-year period.... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Human Resources

November 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

eBay Inc.: Internet Success or Fairy Tale?

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

A well-known financial analyst claims that eBay has never been profitable and currently does not generate any "unfettered" cash flow. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Accounting; Web Services Industry

September 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Bear to Bull: An Analyst’s Journey with Netflix

By: Aiyesha Dey, Joseph Pacelli, Jennifer G. Lawson and Tom Quinn

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said “hell freezing over” was more likely than him upgrading the “sell” rating he had maintained on movie and television streaming giant Netflix since 2011, despite meteoric subscriber and share price growth. In 2022, however,... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Investment; Stocks; Equity; Analysis; Attitudes; Financial Services Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

20 Mar 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Sell Side School Ties

Keywords: by Lauren H. Cohen, Andrea Frazzini & Christopher J. Malloy; Financial Services

February 2011
Article

Understanding Analysts’ Use and Under-use of Stock Returns and Other Analysts’ Forecasts when Forecasting Earnings

By: Michael B. Clement, Jeffrey Hales and Yanfeng Xue

We investigate analysts' use of stock returns and other analysts' forecast revisions in revising their own forecasts after an earnings announcement. We find that analysts respond more strongly to these signals when the signals are more informative about future earnings... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Forecasting and Prediction; Performance Evaluation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Financial Services Industry

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July – August 2008
Article

Buy-Side vs. Sell-Side Analysts' Earnings Forecasts

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Craig James Chapman

We compare the earnings forecast performance of analysts at a large buy-side firm to that of sell-side analysts. Our tests show that the buy-side firm analysts make more optimistic and less accurate forecasts than their counterparts on the sell-side. These performance... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Business Earnings; Forecasting and Prediction; Performance Effectiveness

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August 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (A)

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Kaser

The case details the conflict between Mike Mayo, an influential banking analyst and Citigroup about what Mayo considers aggressive accounting policies. Mike Mayo questions Citigroup's lack of a valuation allowance against their Deferred Tax Assets despite Citi's recent... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Taxation; Capital; Financial Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Valuation; Banks and Banking; Financial Strategy; Money; Conflict Management; Capital Budgeting; Asset Management; Banking Industry

March 2009
Journal Article

Does Individual Performance Affect Entrepreneurial Mobility? Empirical Evidence from the Financial Analysis Market

By: Boris Groysberg, Ashish Nanda and M. Julia Prats

Our paper contributes to the studies on the relationship between workers' human capital and their decision to become self-employed as well as their probability to survive as entrepreneurs. Analysis from a panel data set of research analysts in investment banks over... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investment Banking; Retention; Human Capital; Performance Effectiveness; Banking Industry

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19 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting School Ties and Stock Recommendations

social networks in the form of school ties—bonds formed based on attendance at a common educational institution—helped equity analysts outperform on stock recommendations when the analysts enjoyed an... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

2003
Article

Do Investors Respond to Analysts’ Forecast Revisions As If Forecast Accuracy Is All That Matters?

By: Michael B. Clement and Senyo Tse

Prior research suggests that investors' response to analyst forecast revisions increases with the analyst's forecast accuracy. We extend this research by examining whether investors appear to extract all of the information that analyst characteristics provide about... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Knowledge Sharing

Shlok Goyal is a doctoral student in the Business Economics program. Prior to coming to HBS, he studied economics and statistics-machine learning at Carnegie Mellon University and worked as a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His main... View Details

December 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Innovation and Collaboration at Merrill Lynch

By: Boris Groysberg and Ingrid Vargas

In the spring of 2005, Candace Browning, head of Global Securities Research and Economics at Merrill Lynch, led about 500 Merrill Lynch analysts worldwide in a collaborative effort to produce innovative research, most of them accustomed to working independently in... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Decision Making; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Negotiation; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Human Resources; Motivation and Incentives; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

April 2005
Article

The Geography of Equity Analysis

By: Christopher J. Malloy

I provide evidence that geographically proximate analysts are more accurate than other analysts. Stock returns immediately surrounding forecast revisions suggest that local analysts impact prices more than other analysts. These effects are strongest for firms located... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Stocks; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction; Price; Performance; Equity; Information; Prejudice and Bias; Agency Theory

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February 1996 (Revised February 1997)
Case

America Online, Inc.

By: Amy P. Hutton and Krishna G. Palepu

America Online's (AOL) stock price has soared nearly 2,000% since its IPO. However, there is considerable disagreement among analysts regarding the future prospects of AOL. Although many analysts are bullish on the stock, short sellers have sold around 7 million... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Analysis; Stocks; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Statements; Business Strategy; Web Services Industry

April 2021
Case

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Jack Rivkin

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Jack Rivkin’s innovative approach to hiring, developing, and retaining employees created opportunities for female analysts to thrive at the equity research department he led, and also made the entire department more effective. Rivkin fostered a culture of gender... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inclusivity; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Gender; Talent and Talent Management