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Divide Between GAAP and Non-GAAP EPS for the DJIA Reverted to Normal in Q1

Earnings

By John Butters  |  May 18, 2018

While all publicly traded U.S companies report EPS on a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis, many U.S. companies also choose to report EPS on a non-GAAP basis. There are mixed opinions in the market about the use of non-GAAP EPS. Supporters of the practice argue that it provides the market with a more accurate picture of earnings from the day-to-day operations of companies, as items that companies deem to be one-time events or non-operating in nature are typically excluded from the non-GAAP EPS numbers. Critics of the practice argue that there is no industry-standard definition of non-GAAP EPS, and companies can take advantage of the lack of standards to exclude items that (more often than not) have a negative impact on earnings to boost non-GAAP EPS.

As of today, all of the companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) have reported actual EPS for Q1 2018. What percentage of these companies reported non-GAAP EPS for Q1 2018? What was the median difference between non-GAAP EPS and GAAP EPS for companies in the DJIA for Q1 2018? How did this difference compare to recent quarters?

For Q1 2018, 22 (or 73%) of the 30 companies in the DJIA reported non-GAAP EPS in addition to GAAP EPS for the first quarter. Since 2016, 71% of companies in the DJIA have reported non-GAAP EPS in addition to GAAP EPS on average. Of these 22 companies, 18 (or 82%) reported non-GAAP EPS that exceeded GAAP EPS. Since 2016, 78% of companies in the DJIA reported non-GAAP EPS that exceeded GAAP EPS on average. The median difference between non-GAAP EPS and GAAP EPS for all 22 companies was 13.6%. Since 2016, the median difference between non-GAAP EPS and GAAP EPS has been 13.4%.

Thus, after a significant increase in both the number of DJIA companies reporting non-GAAP EPS and the median difference between non-GAAP EPS and GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter due to charges and gains related to the tax law, both numbers reverted to levels seen in previous quarters in the first quarter. 

DJIA companies reporting non-GAAP EPS

DJIA median difference non-GAAP vs GAAP EPS

*Non-GAAP EPS and GAAP EPS from continuing operations were used when provided

 

DJIA: Top 5 Non-GAAP EPS > GAAP EPS* for Q1 2018

Company

Ticker

Non-GAAP EPS

GAAP EPS

Difference (%)

 General Electric Company

GE

0.16

0.04

300.0%

 Merck & Co., Inc.

MRK

1.05

0.27

288.9%

 NIKE, Inc. Class B^

NKE

0.68

-0.57

219.3%

 3M Company

MMM

2.50

0.98

155.1%

 DowDuPont Inc.

DWDP

1.12

0.47

138.3%

*Non-GAAP EPS and GAAP EPS from continuing operations were used when provided

^NKE provided the EPS impact of charges related to the tax law, which were excluded from GAAP EPS to calculate non-GAAP EPS 

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John Butters

Vice President, Senior Earnings Analyst

Mr. John Butters is Vice President and Senior Earnings Analyst at FactSet. His weekly research report, “Earnings Insight,” provides analysis and commentary on trends in corporate earnings data for the S&P 500 including revisions to estimates, year-over-year growth, performance relative to expectations, and valuations. He is a widely used source for the media and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business News, and the Business News Network. In addition, he has been cited by numerous print and online publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The New York Times, MarketWatch, and Yahoo! Finance. Mr. Butters has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to FactSet in January 2011, he worked for more than 10 years at Thomson Reuters (Thomson Financial), most recently as Director of U.S. Earnings Research (2007-2010).

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