Studying the Pricing of Earnings Components During Corporate Life Cycle

Many studies have shown that users of financial statements are not able to correctly price the components of earnings. Based on competitive and signalling theories, firms’ reporting and earnings quality vary in different stages of the life cycle. Therefore, in this research, we try to study the pricing of earnings components over the life cycle of firms. This study was conducted through the mishkin test expanded by the model of Allen et al (2013). In order to implement this plan, data of 78 companies accepted on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the years 2004 to 2014 were collected from CODAL and TSE-Client. The evidence suggests that cash component and accruals components are respectively underpriced and overpriced by market in growth stage. In addition, there was no evidence of mispricing of accruals related to the growth of the company at the maturity stage. Evidence also showed that these items are underpriced in the declining stage. The pricing of other components of earnings was similar in three stages. Given that the smallest and largest amount of absolute value of the difference in the coefficients of earnings components was respectively observed in the maturity and the declining stages, it can be concluded that earnings at the maturity and the declining are respectively the lowest and the most misleading.