Super Size Me and Stock Prices

Abstract

We examine the impact of the release of "Super Size Me," a movie critical of the nutritional aspects of McDonald 's restaurants, on the stock prices of McDonald's and Wendy's corporations. Consistent with investors impounding information from Ilon -traditional sources, we find a large and significant valuation effect for both firm s. A similar effect was documented for the movie "Fast Food Nation," but none was observed around the release of either "Roger and Me" or for "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price." These result:s may indicate that investors believe that health-related issues have greater business impact than other aspects business practice.