Risk Perceptions and Corporate Financing Behavior

Using a recently developed measure of financial market risk perceptions, we show that risk perceptions affect firm‐level corporate financing behavior. Firms tend to adjust their capital structures to cater to investors' appetite for risk. When perceived risks are low, firms tend to choose more leveraged capital structures to take advantage of higher valuations associated with higher risk exposure. When perceived risks are high, firms tend to deleverage to avoid undervaluation associated with higher risk exposure. Furthermore, in periods of low risk perceptions, bond issue announcement returns tend to be higher, whereas long‐run returns tend to decline with leverage.