Who Gets Believed? Trust and Investor Reaction to Earnings Announcements in Sharīʿah-Compliant vs. Sharīʿah Non-Compliant Firms

Purpose ‒ Considering the proclamations of trustworthiness within the Islamic financial system and the positive relationship between stock market reaction and earnings announcement of the trustworthy firm, this paper aims to empirically test the presence of trust in Sharīʿah-compliant listed firms in Pakistan. Design/Methodology/Approach ‒ The research question has been addressed by investigating firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Event study method has been used by taking Abnormal Return Variance (ARV) and Abnormal Trading Volume (ATV) as proxies to measure the investors’ reaction following earnings announcements. Findings ‒ The results suggest that stock price variations around earnings announcements are negatively related to trustworthy firms compared to less-trusted firms (i.e., Sharīʿah non-compliant firms). For ATV, it was found that traders react to annual earnings announcements for both types of firms in a similar way. Originality/Value ‒ This research is an attempt to evaluate the Islamic financial system from its trustworthiness perspective. Sufficient literature has already documented that being trustworthy is obligatory for Sharīʿah-compliant firms. This study contributes to the literature by examining whether the market/investors trust such firms or not. Research Limitations/Implications ‒ This research is based on a single-country analysis with a research span of one year. Cross-country analysis with a broader time horizon may give further clarity. Practical Implications ‒ This paper has made a valuable contribution to the literature by providing the guideline on how investors’ reactions to Sharīʿah-compliant firms differ from their reactions to Sharīʿah non-compliant firms. It also indicates how religious elements may subdue other social factors such as trust. This paper has also explored the market reaction by assessing both the liquidity and volatility of the stock market in Pakistan.