Long‐Run Common Stock Returns Following Stock Splits and Reverse Splits

The authors examine one-three-year performance of common stocks following 5,596 stock split and 76 reverse split announcements made during the period 1976-91. For stock splits, on average, the one- and three-year buy-and-hold abnormal returns after the announcement month are 7.05 percent and 11.87 percent, respectively. For reverse splits, the corresponding abnormal returns are -10.76 percent and -33.90 percent. The results suggest that the market underreacts to both the stock split and the reverse split announcements. The authors also find that the announcement period and the long-run abnormal returns are both positively associated with an increase in dividends.