Green bonds are of great importance for corporate financial performance. However, such issue, and especially the different consequences in the short- and long-term financial performance of enterprises, need to be further studied. Results show that the green bond issuance can affect the financial performance of enterprises both directly and indirectly through the mediator of R&D investment, environmental information disclosure, and agency costs. Based on annual data on 860 non-financial listed enterprises from 2012 to 2020, the results of difference-in-differences (DID) models show that the green bond issuance significantly reduces the short-term financial performance of enterprises, and improves their long-term financial performance. The results of the mediation models indicate that the green bond issuance mainly reduces the short-term financial performance of enterprises by increasing agency costs, and improves their long-term financial performance by improving R&D investment and environmental information disclosure. Furthermore, the impact of green bonds on corporate financial performance differs according to the region, enterprise ownership, and enterprise scale. Finally, this paper provides suggestions on making full use of green bonds to promote corporate financial performance.
 

green bonds, short-term financial performance, long-term financial performance, DID models, mediating effect