Which affects stock performances more, words or deeds of the key person?

This study provides the first evidence regarding stock markets' heterogeneous responses to news on words and deeds of the key person. Focusing on the cross-listed company of Alibaba, we collect the daily data of news on words and deeds of its key person, the founder and former CEO Jack Ma. We then examine and compare how news on words and deeds affect the shares listed on various exchanges in different regions, i.e., Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and the United States. The results suggest that news on words of the key person provides useful information into stock prices additional to news on deeds. While news of words of the key person tends to enhance the stock returns of Alibaba concept stocks in Chinese Mainland, it reduces share returns in the United States. Such finding reveals the difference of information interpretation in different markets. Focusing on the sentiment of news on deeds, investors' reactions are highly heterogeneous, particularly for Chinese mainland, where positive news is better absorbed than negative news. Overall, this study suggests that both words and deeds of the key person matters in assessing abnormal stock returns but with significantly heterogeneous roles.