The Ex-Dividend Day Behavior of American Depository Receipts

We compare the ex-dividend day stock returns and trading volume of foreign stocks that trade in U.S. markets as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) with the ex-day returns and volume of a matched sample of U.S. stocks. This experiment allows us to investigate whether differences in the way dividends are paid and/or foreign currency risk affect the stock returns and trading volume of ADRs on the ex-dividend day. If these factors inhibit dividend capture in ADRs, then ADRs should earn larger ex-day returns than U.S. stocks, and their ex-day trading volume should be lower. We present evidence consistent with these hypotheses. The results of a cross-sectional regression analysis of ex-day returns and volume are not consistent with a foreign exchange risk premium suppressing dividend capture in ADRs, however, suggesting that differences in dividend payment policies account for the lower level of dividend capture in ADRs.