Using the socioemotional wealth perspective, we predict that family firms exhibit greater cost stickiness than non-family firms because family firms are less inclined to reduce costs during a sales decline in order to avoid a loss of their socioemotional wealth. More specifically, we predict that only family firms with a high percentage of family ownership, family CEOs, and a high proportion of family directors exhibit greater cost stickiness than non-family firms. Finally, we hypothesize that the change in the cost ratio of family firms is negatively associated with future earnings change. Our empirical results are generally consistent with these predictions. As such, our study suggests the importance of the socioemotional wealth perspective in explaining family firms’ cost stickiness relative to non-family firms. Also, we show that more direct family influence like a high percentage of family ownership or family CEO influences the degree of family firms’ cost stickiness. Finally, we suggest that cost stickiness driven by the socioemotional wealth preservation motive produces an increase in the cost ratio that leads to a negative future earnings change.