We analyze whether industry competition is an important factor in analyst coverage decisions and whether analysts benefit from covering product market competitors. We find that analysts are more likely to cover a firm when this firm competes with and offers more similar products to the firms...

We use information from product descriptions in firm 10-Ks to analyze whether product market competition influences analysts' decisions to cover firms, the accuracy and consistency of their earnings reports and their likelihood of obtaining Analyst All-Star status. We find that a firm's analyst...