Do ADR Firms Have Different Dividend Policies Than U.S. Firms? A Comparative Study

Abstract

This paper examines and compares the dividend policies of American depository receipt (ADR) firms and U.S. firms and identifies the factors that determine these policies for both types of companies. We find that ADR firms have higher dividend yields than U.S. firms, while U.S. firms have higher stock repurchase ratios than ADR firms. Results from univariate comparisons and multivariate analysis show that the determining factors of dividend payout and stock repurchases differ between these two types of firms. This finding holds for the robustness check conducted in this study. This paper provides further evidence regarding dividend policies of ADR firms and sheds light on the differences in dividend policies between non-U.S. firm and U.S. firms.