Abstract:

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the capital structure and the efficiency of the use of assets on the persisting earnings in the Jordanian industrial companies listed in the Amman Stock Exchange(ASE). To achieve the objectives of the study, a sample of 48 industrial companies was tested during the period 2009-2015, and the number of observations used in the test was 336. To test the hypotheses of the study, a multiple regression (OLS) was used for the Pooled Data Regression. The study found that industrial companies achieve persisting earnings. The study also found the existence of a positive effect that is statistically significant for each of the capital structure (debt ratio), and indicators of the efficiency of the use of assets (of asset growth rate, working capital turnover, and the rate of current assets turnover), on the persisting earnings. The study also found no effect of the ratio of debt to stockholder equity, and the ratio of long-term debt to long-term assets on the persisting earnings. Accordingly, the study recommends that the management of companies maintain the persisting earnings and exert more effort to exploit the company's assets with the best possible efficiency to achieve sales volume so that it can achieve persisting earnings to enable it to continue its activities. Key Words: Persisting Earnings, Capital Structure, Asset Efficiency, Industrial Companies, Earnings Quality.

Keywords: