Stock split, unseasoned equity offering, and firm value: evidence from the Korean stock market

This study examines the extent to which announcements of stock splits and unseasoned equity offerings (capital increase without consideration) affect firm values in the Korean stock market. The authors find that, based on analyses of the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) around the announcement dates, CARs are significantly positive for both corporate events. This result suggests that both events are positive in relation to the firm’s value. The authors also examine whether the performance of firms that execute stock splits and/or unseasoned equity offerings differs from that of firms that do not, before and after their announcement dates; we do so by using the difference-in-difference test. The results indicate that a stock split is unrelated to improved firm performance following the announcement, and that an unseasoned equity offering can even have a negative impact on performance. Hence, the presence of stock splits and unseasoned equity offerings does not seem to support the signaling hypothesis, which predicts firms’ positive performance following an announcement