Through earnings announcements, conference calls, and other press releases, corporate executives have an opportunity to frame the narrative of financial disclosures. Numerous studies have shown that textual tone significantly influences stock returns, suggesting that through word choice, upper management may impact market reaction. In this study, we examine the influence of CEO personality traits on corporate disclosures by analyzing the tone of earnings announcements for a sample of Fortune 500 CEOs over nearly two decades. Our hypotheses are twofold: 1) that qualitative disclosures in firms with narcissistic leaders will be biased upward and 2) the bias will moderate as CEOs becomes older. Our empirical results support these hypotheses and suggest that more narcissistic CEOs tend to reinforce their grandiose self-image by issuing more positive earnings announcements but this desire wanes with CEO age. We also find that the stock market response to the tone of the earnings announcement is less pronounced for more narcissistic CEOs, suggesting the market takes into account the bias in narcissistic CEO announcements.

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Purpose − This study examines the effect of managerial ability on the tone of earnings announcements and on the market response to the tone. Design/methodology/approach − This study constructs a model of the determinants of earnings announcement tone in order to examine whether managerial ability plays a significant role in determining earnings announcement tone. Further, to test whether the market response to the tone of earnings announcements is affected by managerial ability, this study also examines the interactive term between earnings announcement tone and managerial ability. The tone of earnings announcements is measured using the spread in the proportion of positive and negative words. Managerial ability is measured using the managerial ability rank developed by Demerjian et al. (2012). Findings − More able management teams use a more positive tone in their earnings announcements. Stock markets have more pronounced positive reactions to positive tones in the earnings announcements issued by companies with more able management teams. Originality/value-This study identifies managerial ability as a previously unrecognized determinant of tone in earnings announcements and of the stock price reaction to earnings announcements.

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Using a sample of S&P 500 companies, this study constructs a measure of CEO narcissism and examines whether and how it impacts the accuracy and dispersion of analysts’ forecasts. Empirical evidence suggests that firms with narcissistic CEOs have higher accuracy and lower dispersion of such forecasts. In investigating the mechanism through which CEO narcissism impacts these properties, we find that firms with narcissistic CEOs are more likely to issue management earnings guidance, albeit less accurate, which results in significant differences in accuracy and dispersion of analysts’ forecasts. This study concludes that through more management voluntary disclosure, CEO narcissism has a positive impact on the accuracy and negative impact on the dispersion of financial analysts’ forecasts. While several studies have explored the effect of CEO narcissism on corporate financial reporting, this is the first study to expand such inquiry into the sector of financial analysts.