Abstract: In recent years，substantial goodwill impairment of listed companies has attracted considerable attention Some companies have encountered operational crises and financial difficulties due to largescale goodwill impairment While substantial goodwill impairment harms investors interests，it also significantly undermines the overall stability of the capital market Therefore，exploring effective methods for identifying goodwill impairment is of great significance to protect investors rights and interests and to maintain the stability of the capital market 
Currently，the assessment of corporate goodwill impairment predominantly relies on financial information，with relatively insufficient attention to nonfinancial information Corporate ESG performance，as a crucial piece of nonfinancial information，is closely related to corporate operations and development，potentially offering valuable insights for identifying goodwill impairment Therefore，investigating the applicability of corporate ESG performance in identifying goodwill impairment is a significant and valuable issue 
Using Ashare listed companies in Chinas capital market from 2009 to 2021，this paper examines the relationship between corporate ESG performance and goodwill impairment The main findings are as follows Firstly，corporate ESG performance is significantly and negatively correlated with goodwill impairment，indicating that corporate ESG performance can be valuable information for identifying goodwill impairment Secondly，mechanism analysis reveals that good ESG performance suggests optimistic future operating performance and lower operating risks，thereby implying less goodwill impairment Thirdly，the negative relationship between ESG performance and goodwill impairment is more pronounced in nonstateowned companies and companies with lower institutional ownership or less analyst coverage Finally，this study finds that divergence in ESG ratings weakens the negative relationship between companies ESG performance and goodwill impairment 
Compared to existing studies，this paper makes possible marginal contributions in three main aspects Firstly，it explores the informational value of companies ESG performance from the perspective of decision usefulness While existing research primarily focuses on how ESG performance information influences corporate behavior in the capital market，this paper emphasizes the intrinsic informational value of ESG performance，discussing the corporate traits embedded within it Secondly，it enriches the research literature on corporate goodwill impairment from an ESG perspective Although some studies have addressed the impact of corporate ESG performance on M&A goodwill，they have not thoroughly explored the inherent connection between corporate ESG performance and goodwill impairments This study provides new empirical evidence for understanding goodwill impairment in the context of sustainable development Thirdly，this paper links corporate ESG performance with goodwill impairment，providing valuable insights on the nonfinancial dimension for effectively identifying and preventing goodwill impairment risks

Key words: corporate ESG performance, goodwill impairment, future operating performance, operational risk

摘要： 作为重要的非财务信息，企业的ESG表现能否应用于识别商誉减值值得关注。本文以2009—2021年中国A股上市公司为研究对象，考察了企业ESG表现与商誉减值的关系。研究发现：（1）ESG表现越好的企业，商誉减值越少，这意味着企业的ESG表现具有商誉减值识别的作用；（2）良好的ESG表现可以视作企业未来业绩乐观、经营风险较小的积极信号，从而预示着较低的商誉减值；（3）在非国有产权性质、机构持股较少、分析师关注度较低的企业中，企业ESG表现与商誉减值的负向关系更加显著；（4）ESG评级分歧会削弱企业ESG表现与商誉减值间的负向关系。本文基于外部信息使用者视角将企业ESG表现与商誉减值联系起来，为有效识别和防范化解商誉减值风险提供了非财务维度的有益启示。

关键词: 企业ESG表现, 商誉减值, 未来经营业绩, 经营风险