The long-run stock performance of preferred stock issuers

We examine the long-run common stock performance of preferred stock issuers. We find that significant abnormal underperformance is present only for 1 year after the issue. For the longer term we do not find consistently significant abnormal performance. This result contrasts with substantial underperformance of common equity and debt issuers during the 3 or 5 years post-issue. The better long-run performance of preferred issuers relative to common equity and debt issuers is driven primarily by financial firms' motivation to issue preferred stock to satisfy regulatory requirements of capital adequacy.