Amitabh Dugar, PhD, CPA
Jacob Pozharny, PhD
The following article originally appeared in the Financial Analysts Journal, Volume 77, Issue 2, dated March 18, 2021. The article is posted here by permission of the Financial Analysts Journal and the CFA Institute.
The value relevance of financial variables, such as book value and earnings, has decreased for particular industries of high “intangible intensity.”
Overview
Expenditures on the creation of intangible capital have increased, but accounting standards have not kept pace. We investigated whether this has affected the value relevance of book value and earnings. We constructed a composite measure of intangible intensity by which to classify industries. The measure is based on intangible assets capitalized on the balance sheet; research and development expenditures; and sales, general, and administrative expenditures. We show that the value relevance of book value and earnings has declined for high-intangible-intensity companies in the United States and abroad, but for the low-intangible-intensity group, it has remained stable in the United States while increasing internationally.
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Disclosures
The opinions expressed here are exclusively those of Bridgeway Capital Management (“Bridgeway”). Information provided herein is educational in nature and for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment, legal, or tax advice.
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. In addition, market turbulence and reduced liquidity in the markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect investor accounts. Value stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “growth” stocks. International stocks present additional unique risks including unstable, volatile governments, currency risk and interest rate risks.
Diversification neither assures a profit nor guarantees against loss in a declining market.