In this paper we examine the validity of using one-year-ahead cash flows prediction tests as a substitute for the value relevance test of earnings. We show theoretically that the R2 of the cash flows prediction regression is contaminated by the presence of (1) noise in the cash flows and (2)...

Although various income statement–based measures predict the cross section of stock returns, direct method cash flow measures have even stronger predictive power. We transform indirect method cash flow statements into disaggregated and more direct estimates of cash flows from operations and...

We develop and test explanations for sources of intertemporal variation in the information content of aggregate earnings and how that variation explains variation in the relation between aggregate earnings growth and market returns over time. We find that the correlation between aggregate...