Zhi-Qian Jiang

A Critical Examination of Corporate Investment Efficiency: Evidence From U.S. Firms

We document a broad decline in return on assets ( ROA ) among U.S. public firms from 1963 to 2020, including firms with high growth opportunities, R&D intensity and market power. Many firms earn realized returns below estimated costs of capital and valuation‐implied benchmarks. Declining asset utilization and Ric...