The incremental information content of earnings, working capital from operations, and cash flows

This paper presents an empirical study to determine the effects of different factors including present profit, depreciation, working capital, operating cash flow and other accruals on future earnings stability. The study selects the information of 124 selected firms from Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2006-2012. Using two regression analysis, the study has determined that as the fluctuation of profit increases, the profitability increases too. In addition, the study has concluded that firms with minimum fluctuations preserve more stable profitability. Moreover, firms with higher fluctuation in profitability maintain more volatile profitability for the next consecutive period