ABSTRACT
This study analyzes the relationship of firm-level ESG scores and stock returns from a worldwide database for the automotive industry. It measures the significance of the ESG and CFP relationship during the last decade, and includes a comparison of those firms with different levels of ESG scores, as well as between firms with ESG scores and to firms that lack such scores. A quasi-experimental difference-in-differences (DID) design and a panel data are estimated to examine the impact of ESG scores and ESG combined scores on firms' stock return before and during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The results suggest that sustainable actions during the pandemic lessened stock returns, as evidenced by the negative coefficients of the ESGC and ESG scores. The interaction terms with firm size, revealed that ESGC and ESG scores had a positive relationship with stock returns during the pandemic. Thus, larger firms' returns benefited from higher ESG scores during the COVID-19 crisis. The performance of the stratified sample firms' stock returns in the context of the COVID-19 sanitary emergency is an original contribution to the literature on the ESG-CFP relationship. © The Author(s) 2022.