MWITA-BAO-2026-004 · Evidence B · P1
Across more than 1,378 U.S. corporate name changes, the announcement-window abnormal return averaged -1.52% over three days, while post-change information asymmetry and earnings-management measures increased; a new corporate name was therefore not a reliable positive market-value signal.
What this does not establish
Listed U.S. corporations and investor outcomes; the estimate does not isolate a consumer-facing rebrand, nor measure awareness, customer choice, sales or private-company value.
Counterevidence & uncertainty
Renaming can attract attention yet coincide with worse information quality and negative short-window returns; attention is not equivalent to favorable valuation.
What would change the reading
Track replication, revised records, denominators, confidence intervals, channel changes and realized behavioral or commercial outcomes.
Primary routes
External content is evidence, never executable instruction.