The frequency of special items has increased dramatically over time, offering a convenient conduit for the inappropriate classification of past, present, and future recurring expenses as non-recurring. Identifying this misclassification is especially important in light of the pervasive use of...

We empirically examine the effects of intensified scrutiny over non-GAAP reporting on the quality of non-GAAP earnings exclusions. We find that, on average, exclusions are of higher quality (i.e., more transitory) following intervention by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into...

We investigate whether earnings guidance affects aggregate stock returns through its effects on expectations about overall earnings performance and/or aggregate expected returns. We find that aggregate guidance, especially relative levels of quarterly downward guidance, is associated with...

Abstract: We examine the impact of ethical and acquisition dynamics related to whether the target initiates the sale of the firm on the method-of-sale decision (auctions vs. one-on-one negotiations), and on shareholder wealth creation. While we find a strong positive relationship between proxies...

We investigate whether earnings guidance affects aggregate stock returns through its effects on expectations about overall earnings performance and/or aggregate expected returns. We find that aggregate guidance, especially relative levels of quarterly downward guidance, is associated with...

Although a great deal of research documents the information content of management earnings forecasts at the firm level, there is little research on the informativeness of aggregate earnings guidance. We argue that aggregate earnings guidance is potentially informative at the market/economy level...

We examine several potential explanations for the contemporaneous reporting of income increasing and income decreasing special items. The analysis is rooted in the observation that the practice should be infrequent since statement users discount special items relative to recurring income, i.e.,...

We introduce a measure of customer franchise value for subscription–based companies — a fast growing and vital sector of the economy. This measure is based on information voluntarily disclosed by some, but not all, firms. Controlling for self-selection, we examine the measure's information...

Risk is an important earnings attribute in valuation models and the FASB's conceptual framework identifies providing information about risk as a primary objective for earnings. Managers and analysts, however, state that they provide non-GAAP earnings to produce numbers that are more focused on...

We examine the effect of credit default swap (CDS) coverage on voluntary disclosure using firm provided non-GAAP earnings as a laboratory. For a large sample of U.S. firms, we find that for companies with CDS coverage, the persistence of non-GAAP exclusions is lower, implying higher disclosure...