ABSTRACT: This paper examines how cross‐listing impacts analyst coverage and forecast accuracy for U.S. firms that cross‐list on foreign exchanges. By focusing on U.S. firms cross‐listing abroad, we are able to discriminate between two competing explanations for the improvements in information intermediation experienced by foreign firms cross‐listing in the U.S. (Lang, Lins, and Miller 2003); that is, whether the improvements are driven by generic cross‐listing effects or by the strict disclosure and regulatory requirements specific to the U.S. markets. Our cross‐sectional analysis indicates that cross‐listing is negatively associated with analyst coverage, and our time‐series analysis yields only marginal evidence of post‐cross‐listing improvement in forecast accuracy. Thus the cross‐listing benefits documented in prior research for foreign firms cross‐listing in the U.S. are not generalizable to all cross‐listings and may be attributable to the strong disclosure and regulatory environment prevalent in the United States.
