Does supporting Ukraine pay well? The performance of companies that suspended their business in Russia

Using recent data about US companies that announced they were suspending their business activities in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, we test how their decision affected their stock prices and forward-looking volatility. Using the event-study approach as well as the difference-indifference model, we find that these firms, on average, experienced a reduction (increase) in their value (implied volatility). However, this reduction (increase) did not last more than one to two weeks. We explain the results using the classic financial paradigm and the counterbalancing impact of social responsibility. Our results are robust to a battery of robustness checks and empirical designs.