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Apple ( AAPL ), IBM, and Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) have higher earnings quality than some 3D printer makers, based on their GAAP vs. non-GAAP accounting, says UBS. Tech companies, and some others, typically report both non-GAAP earnings — which exclude stock options grants to employees and often other items — and earnings under GAAP (generally accepted accounted principles), which include everything. Financial analysts typically provide non-GAAP estimates for quarterly results, and those numbers frequently get more play in quarterly earnings stories in the business press. “Non-tech investors sometimes recoil at the liberal non-GAAP reporting by tech companies and its acceptance by investors,” noted UBS analyst Steven Milunovich in the research report. Milunovich says a large difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings should be taken into account in assessing a stock’s price-to-earnings, or P/E, ratios. “Apple’s financial statements embody the same user-friendly nature as its products in only reporting GAAP numbers,” he wrote. Milunovich also said the GAAP to non-GAAP EPS difference for IBM ( IBM ) is just “modest,” and is a “relatively conservative” 12% for Cisco. IBM is slated to report its Q1 earnings on April 18, and Apple on April 25. IBM stock fell 0.3% to 152.07 on the stock market today. Apple rose 1% to 111.12, closing just below Apple’s 200-day line after the stock topped that key level intraday for the first time in 2016. Milunovich is the second tech analyst in a week to take a close look at GAAP vs. non-GAAP earnings. Citigroup analyst Mark May last week slashed his price target on LinkedIn ( LNKD ) and also lowered its targets on shares of Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Facebook ( FB ) and Netflix ( NFLX ) in a report that examined the earnings dilution from stock compensation grants . Milunovich says restructuring charges also impact GAAP vs. non-GAAP accounting. The UBS analysts flagged the leading makers of 3D printers. He said that in 2015 “both Stratasys ( SSYS ) and 3D Systems ( DDD ) had large impairments, especially Stratasys’ write-off of MakerBot, creating the biggest gaps (in GAAP vs. non-GAAP accounting)” among the companies he looked at. Storage vendors including Nimble ( NMBL ), NetApp ( NTAP ) and EMC ( EMC ) also had relatively large differences in GAAP vs. non-GAAP earnings, he wrote. Scalper1 News
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