Artificial Intelligence Disclosure and Firm Value: The Moderating Role of Board Independence: Evidence from Saudi Listed Firms

This study examines the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) disclosure and firm value and investigates the moderating role of board independence among Saudi listed non-financial firms over 2019–2025. A multidimensional Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Intensity Index (AIDI) is developed to capture the breadth and substantive depth of AI-related corporate reporting across five dimensions. Using an unbalanced panel of 145 firms and 930 firm-year observations (785 in the estimation sample), the study employs panel regression and dynamic System GMM, with Tobin’s Q as the primary measure of firm value. The findings show a positive association between AI disclosure intensity and firm value, conditional on the included controls. We also find positive associations using alternative disclosure measures, accounting-based performance outcomes, firm fixed effects, and System GMM; however, the one-year lagged AIDI coefficient is statistically insignificant. The study finds no statistically significant evidence of moderation by board independence. The study contributes to the emerging AI disclosure literature by providing a multidimensional disclosure measure and new evidence from the Saudi capital market. The results provide evidence of an association between reported AI disclosure and firm valuation, without establishing causality or investors’ responses to report publication.