Accounting for Asset Pricing Factors
Corresponding Author
Stephen Penman
Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
Correspondence: Stephen Penman ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorXiao-Jun Zhang
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Stephen Penman
Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
Correspondence: Stephen Penman ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorXiao-Jun Zhang
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
Search for more papers by this authorABSTRACT
Many accounting numbers appear in standard factor models but without a clear explanation. The numbers are generated under accounting principles that deal with risk, providing an explanation but also a critique of how extant models identify accounting-based factors. That leads to a revised factor construction. Accounting numbers are codetermined in a double-entry system, a feature that is exploited in packaging the factors into a model. Rather than entering as the separate, additive factors, adding to the “factor zoo,” they are combined parsimoniously to capture the information they jointly convey about risk and return in the double-entry system. Empirical tests confirm.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
Data are from publicly available sources indicated in the paper.
References
- Al-Horani, A., P. Pope, and A. Stark. 2003. “Research and Development Activity and Expected Returns in the United Kingdom.” Review of Finance 7, no. 1: 27–46.
10.1023/A:1022504029943 Google Scholar
- Arnott, R., C. Harvey, V. Kalesnik, and J. Linnainmaa. 2021. “Reports of Value's Death May be Greatly Exaggerated.” Financial Analysts Journal 77, no. 1: 44–67.
- Ball, R. 1978. “Anomalies in Relationships Between Securities' Yields and Yield-Surrogates.” Journal of Financial Economics 6: 103–126.
- Ball, R., J. Gerakos, J. Linnainmaa, and V. Nikolaev. 2018. “Profitability, Cash Flows and Accruals in the Cross Section of Stock Returns.” Journal of Financial Economics 121: 28–45.
10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.03.002 Google Scholar
- Ball, R., J. Gerakos, J. Linnainmaa, and V. Nikolaev. 2020. “Earnings, Retained Earnings, and Book-to-Market in the Cross-Section of Stock Returns.” Journal of Financial Economics 135: 231–254.
10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.05.013 Google Scholar
- Bansal, R., and A. Yaron. 2004. “Risks for the Long-Run: A Potential Resolution of Asset Pricing Puzzles.” Journal of Finance 59: 1481–1509.
- Barker, R., A. Lennard, S. Penman, and A. Teixeira. 2021. “Accounting for Intangible Assets: Suggested Solutions.” Accounting and Business Research 52, no. 5: 601–630.
- Basu, S. 1977. “Investment Performance of Common Stocks in Relation to Their Price-Earnings Ratios: A Test of the Efficient Market Hypothesis.” Journal of Finance 32: 663–682.
- Basu, S. 1983. “The Relationship Between Earnings Yield, Market Value, and Return for NYSE Stocks: Further Evidence.” Journal of Financial Economics 12: 129–156.
- Berk, J., R. Green, and V. Naik. 1999. “Optimal Investment, Growth Options, and Security Returns.” Journal of Finance 54: 1153–1608.
- Bongaerts, D., X. Kang, and M. van Dijk. Unpublished manuscript. “ Intangible Assets and the Cross-Section of Returns.” Last modified September 25, 2022. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3927990.
- Bublitz, B., and M. Ettredge. 1989. “The Information in Discretionary Outlays: Advertising, Research, and Development.” Accounting Review 64, no. 1: 108–124.
- Casey, R. J., F. Gao, M. T. Kirschenheiter, S. Li, and S. Pandit. 2016. “Do Compustat Financial Statement Data Articulate?” Journal of Financial Reporting 1, no. 1: 37–59.
- Cho, T., L. Kremens, D. Lee, and C. Polk. Unpublished manuscript. “ Scale or Yield? A Present-Value Identity.” Last modified May 24, 2024. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3857368.
- Cochrane, J. 1991. “Production-Based Asset Pricing and the Link Between Stock Returns and Economic Fluctuations.” Journal of Finance 46: 209–237.
- Cooper, M., H. Gulen, and M. Schill. 2008. “Asset Growth and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns.” Journal of Finance 63: 1609–1651.
- Cooper, M., H. Gulen, and M. Ion. 2024. “The Use of Asset Growth in Empirical Asset Pricing Models.” Journal of Financial Economics 151: 103746.
- Duan, Z., Z. Gong, and Q. Qi. Unpublished manuscript. Factorization Asset Pricing. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3940074.
- Eisfeldt, A., and D. Papanikolaou. 2013. “Organizational Capital and the Cross-section of Expected Returns.” Journal of Finance 67, no. 4: 1365–1406.
10.1111/jofi.12034 Google Scholar
- Eisfeldt, A., E. Kim, and D. Papanikolaou. 2020. Intangible value. Unpublished paper at. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3720983.
- Epstein, L., and S. Zin. 1989. “Substitution, Risk Aversion, and the Temporal Behavior of Consumption and Asset Returns.” Econometrica 57: 937–969.
- Dechow, P., R. Sloan, and M. Soliman. 2004. “Implied Equity Duration: A New Measure of Equity Risk.” Review of Accounting Studies 9: 197–228.
- Fama, E., and K. French. 1992. “The Cross-Section of Expected Returns.” Journal of Finance 47, no. 2: 427–465.
- Fama, E., and K. French. 1993. “Common Risk Factors in the Returns of Stocks and Bonds.” Journal of Financial Economics 33: 3–56.
- Fama, E., and K. French. 2006. “Profitability, Investment and Average Returns.” Journal of Financial Economics 82: 491–518.
- Fama, E., and K. French. 2015. “A Five-Factor Asset Pricing Model.” Journal of Financial Economics 116: 1–22.
- Fama, E., and K. French. 2018. “Choosing Factors.” Journal of Financial Economics 128: 234–252.
- Fama, E., and K. French. 2020. “Comparing Cross-Section and Time-Series Factor Models.” Review of Financial Studies 33: 1891–1926.
- Feltham, G., and J. Ohlson. 1995. “Valuation and Clean Surplus Accounting for Operating and Financial Activities.” Contemporary Accounting Research 11: 689–731.
10.1111/j.1911-3846.1995.tb00462.x Google Scholar
- Hall, B. H., E. Mansfield, and A. B. Jaffe. 1993. “Industrial Research During the 1980s: Did the Rate of Return Fall?” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Microeconomics 1993, no. 2: 289–343.
10.2307/2534741 Google Scholar
- Hou, K., H. Mo, C. Xue, and L. Zhang. 2021. “An Augmented Q-Factor Model With Expected Growth.” Review of Finance 25, no. 1: 1–41.
- Hou, K., C. Xue, and L. Zhang. 2015. “Digesting Anomalies: An Investment Approach.” Review of Financial Studies 28: 650–705.
- Kapons, M. 2020. “ R&D Expenses, R&D Capitalization, the Book-to-Price Ratio and the Cross-Section of Returns.” Working Paper, Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Tilburg University. Presented at the Accounting Design Project Forum. https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/ceasa/sites/ceasa/files/20200918_ADP_Kapons.pdf.
- Lev, B., and T. Sougiannis. 1996. “The Capitalization, Amortization, and Value Relevance of R&D.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 2: 107–138.
- Lev, B., and A. Srivastava. 2020. “ Explaining the Recent Failure of Value Investing.” Working Paper, New York University and University of Calgary. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3442539.
- Li, F. 2020. “ Intangibles: The Missing Ingredient in Book Value.” Paper, Research Affiliates, LLC. Published October 22. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3686595.
- Merton, R. 1973. “An Intertemporal Asset Pricing Model.” Econometrica 41: 867–887.
- Mullins, G. Unpublished manuscript. “ Equity Duration.” Last modified February 3, 2021.
- Novy-Marx, R. 2013. “The Other Side of Value: The Gross Profitability Premium.” Journal of Financial Economics 108: 1–28.
- Oh, H., and S. Penman. 2024. “Income Statement Mismatching Has Not Reduced the Informativeness of Earnings Over Time.” Journal of Business Finance and Accounting 51: 756–782.
- Ohlson, J. 1995. “Earnings, Book Values, and Dividends in Equity Valuation.” Contemporary Accounting Research 12: 661–687.
10.1111/j.1911-3846.1995.tb00461.x Google Scholar
- Oswald, D., A. Simpson, and P. Zarowin. 2020. “ The Information Benefits of R&D Capitalization.” Woking Paper, University of Michigan, London School of Economics, and New York University.
- Park, H. 2022. “An Intangible-adjusted Book-to-Market Ratio Still Predicts Stock Returns.” Critical Finance Review 11: 265–297.
- Penman, S. 2021. “Accounting for Risk.” Foundations and Trends in Accounting 16, no. 1-2: 1–135.
- Penman, S. 2025. “ Empirical Research on Capitalizing Intangible Assets is Logically Incoherent.” Published November 25. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4982366.
- Penman, S., and F. Reggiani. 2018. “Fundamentals of Value vs. Growth Investing and an Explanation for the Value Trap.” Financial Analysts Journal 74: 102–119.
10.2469/faj.v74.n4.6 Google Scholar
- Penman, S., and F. Reggiani. 2024. “ A Fundamental Explanation for the Size Effect in Returns and its Variation Over Time.” Published August 9. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4180896.
- Penman, S., F. Reggiani, S. Richardson, and İ. Tuna. 2018. “A Framework for Identifying Accounting Characteristics for Asset Pricing Models, With an Evaluation of Book-to-price.” European Financial Management 24: 488–520.
- Penman, S., and N. Yehuda. 2019. “A Matter of Principle: The Identification of Cash-flow News and Discount-Rate News in Financial Statements.” Management Science 65: 5584–5602.
- Penman, S., and X. Zhang. 2020. “A Theoretical Analysis Connecting Conservative Accounting to the Cost of Capital.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 69: 1–25.
- Penman, S., and X. Zhang. 2021. “Connecting Book Rate of Return to Risk and Return: The Information Conveyed by Conservative Accounting.” Review of Accounting Studies 26, no. 1: 391–423.
- Penman, S., and X. Zhang. 2025. “ Deriving Fama and French Factors.” Last modified January 21. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4895017.
- Penman, S., and J. Zhu. 2022. “An Accounting-Based Asset Pricing Model and a Fundamental Factor.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 73, no. 2-3: 101476.
- Peters, R., and L. Taylor. 2017. “Intangible Capital and the Investment-q Relation.” Journal of Financial Economics 123: 251–272.
- Rizova, S., and N. Saito. Unpublished manuscript. “Intangibles and Expected Stock Returns”. Last modified October 2021. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3697452.
- Shumway, T. 1997. “The Delisting Bias in CRSP Data.” Journal of Finance 52: 327–340.
- Titman, S., K. Wei, and F. Xie. 2004. “Capital Investment and Stock Returns.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 39: 677–700.
- Weber, M. 2018. “Cash Flow Duration and the Term Structure of Equity Returns.” Journal of Financial Economics 128, no. 3: 486–503.
- Zhang, X. 2000. “Conservative Accounting and Equity Valuation.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 29: 125–149.