ABSTRACT
This paper analyses the relation between firms' life cycles stages according to Dickinson's (2011)DICKINSON, V. Cash Flow Patterns as a Proxy for Firm Life Cycle. The Accounting Review, v. 86, n. 6, p. 1969-1994, 2011. definition and accounting and financial ratios. We applied multinomial logistic regression analysis on a sample of 1,515 observations of public companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA between 2005 and 2012. Based on the literature about firms' life cycle stages (YAN; ZHAO, 2010YAN, Z; ZHAO, Y. A New Methodology of Measuring Corporate Life-cycle Stages. International Journal of Economic Perspectives, v. 4, n. 4, 2010.; MILLER; FRIESEN, 1984MILLER, D., FRIESEN, P. "A Longitudinal Study of the Corporate Life Cycle", Management Science, v. 30, n. 10, p. 1161-1183, 1984.; FAMA; FRENCH, 2001FAMA, E., FRENCH, K. "Disappearing dividends: changing firm characteristics or lower propensity to pay?". Journal of Financial Economics, v. 60, p. 3-43, 2001.) the accounting and financial ratios used were dividends distribution, leverage, market-to-book, return on equity, firm size and revenue growth. The results show that leverage, dividends distribution, market-to-book, return on equity, firm size and revenue growth could be used as explanatory factors to classify firms' life cycle stages.
Keywords:
Life cycle; Accounting ratios; Finance; Brazilian public companies; Capital market