The impact of the capitalization of operating leases

A guide for individual investors

Authors

  • Jack Trifts College of Business, Bryant University
  • Gary Porter D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61190/fsr.v26i2.3308

Keywords:

Operating leases, Off-balance sheet financing, Asset pricing

Abstract

We provide a brief explanation of the new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standard requiring firms to move their off-balance sheet operating leases onto the balance sheet beginning in 2019, and then discuss how the new rule might affect the stock and bond values in the largest 1,000 listed firms. In short, despite dramatic increases in on-balance sheet liabilities in several industries, we
caution investors not to anticipate changes in their stock or bond valuations resulting from this change. Because asset values change in response to new information, and the information we present in this article regarding changes in total assets and debt ratios is currently available in the notes to the financial statements and from data providers such as Bloomberg, it is already being used by
professionals to forecast asset values. 

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Published

2017-06-30

How to Cite

Trifts, J., & Porter, G. (2017). The impact of the capitalization of operating leases: A guide for individual investors. Financial Services Review, 26(2), 205–220. https://doi.org/10.61190/fsr.v26i2.3308

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 2 (2017): Summer 2017

Section

New Original Submission

License

Copyright (c) 2014 Academy of Financial Services

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