The impact of the Internet on earnings announcements

This study examines the impact of the Internet on earnings announcements, in an Australian context, with relation to (1) information content (2) post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD) and (3) information asymmetry. Our results for the pre-Internet (1996) and the post-Internet (2000) periods provide mixed evidence on the changes in the information content of earnings announcements. However, we detect a reduction in both the magnitude and duration of the post-earnings announcement drift in the post-Internet period for the positive unexpected earnings decile. The analysis on abnormal volume, spread and market depth do not show a significant change in information asymmetry between the pre- and post-Internet periods for preliminary final announcements.