Prague Economic Papers 2024, 33(2):137-163 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.854

ESG Score Uncertainty and Excess Stock Returns: European Stock Market Case

Michal Vyletelka ORCID...
Prague University of Economics and Business, Faculty of Finance and Accounting, Prague, Czech Republic

The study explores a relationship between divergence in ESG scores (measurements of a company's performance in environmental, social and governance issues) and excess stock returns on the European equity market. The sample consists of 851 European stocks in the period from January 2015 to May 2022. It is concluded that, despite previous findings on the US stock market, a similar effect is not observed for equities in Europe. Even though the stock portfolios with the most and the least divergent ESG scores bear excess returns, the effect disappears when it is adjusted for Fama-French factors. The effect is not relevant for any specific industry, nor does it depend on the level of ESG awareness of the issuer's country. Deeper exploration of the nature of ESG score divergence, specifically by decomposition of the individual elements of ESG scores, could further contribute to the understanding of the relationship between the quality of non-financial disclosures and stock performance.

Klíčová slova: ESG score divergence, excess returns, Fama-French analysis, sustainable finance, ESG investing
JEL classification: E17, G11, G12, G24, M14, Q01, Q56

Vloženo: 13. březen 2023; Revidováno: 18. listopad 2023; Přijato: 21. listopad 2023; Zveřejněno: 3. květen 2024  Zobrazit citaci

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Vyletelka, M. (2024). ESG Score Uncertainty and Excess Stock Returns: European Stock Market Case. Prague Economic Papers, 33(2), 137-163. doi: 10.18267/j.pep.854
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