Information content and timing of earnings announcements

The China Securities Regulatory Commission requires all listed firms to make earnings announcements by the end of April each year. This requirement creates a unique opportunity for us to evaluate the timing of earnings announcements in a four-month cluster. Firms, which are willing to image early announcements, tend to surprise the market, as indicated by the higher volume and price reactions. Later announcements are more predictable, as indicated by the lower, volume and price reactions. These results indicate that an information asymmetry exists between early and late earnings announcements in Mainland China.