The Impact of Financial and Trade Credit on Firms Market Value

This study employs data from CRSP/Compustat files for the period from 2003 to 2017 and applies a panel data analysis. The results of this study show a positive relationship between trade credit and the firm’s market value, however, the results show a negative relationship if we test the impact of financial credit on the firm’s market value. The results have direct policy implications for investors, the firm’s management, and financial strategy. An implication of our study is that using trade credit as a source of financing may give a positive signal of the firm’s creditworthiness and increase the firm’s market value. Also, the results of our study indicate that the benefits of using trade credit may outperform the cost of using it as a source of finance. Prior studies examine the impact of financial leverage on the firm’s value, however, this study contributes to the existing studies that examine the factors that affect the firm’s market value by examining the impact of using trade credit finance on the firm’s market value. The main limitation of this study is that the results are based on listed firms, using data from unlisted firms is not available.