Capturing Profitability in Asset Pricing Models for Japanese Equities 1994-2016

Abstract

We follow Ball et al. (2015) to investigate and compare firms’ gross profit, operating profit, and net income as predictors of returns for a cross-section of traded Japanese equities spanning 1994-2016. We test the predictive power of profit measures on cross-sectional stock returns using portfolio tests and Fama-MacBeth regressions, find that gross-profit-to-book-equity significantly predict returns on sampled stocks. Consistent with Novy-Marx (2013), we also find that sorting portfolios by gross profitability and book-to-market ratios outperform in the Japanese market. Hence, we create a Market-Profitability-Value model that captures value and profitability premium among returns of sampled stocks. Based on Gibbons-Ross-Shanken test and economic value, we demonstrate that our enhanced model outperforms Fama–French multiple-factor model in isolating influences on equity returns.