Reconciling EPS Differences with Earnings Definitions and SEC Filings
Summary
The document examines why financial websites can report different earnings per share figures for the same company and reporting date. Differences may arise because sources use different periods, such as a quarter versus a trailing year, or different earnings measures, including GAAP, operating, and adjusted EPS. Per-share calculations can also vary slightly with the share-count convention. The discussion emphasizes identifying the precise earnings definition and time period before comparing reported figures.
For an authoritative check, the response points to the company’s quarterly filing and the corresponding SEC filing. It describes locating basic and diluted net loss per share in the income statement and checking the underlying numerator and weighted-average share count. In the cited example, the filing’s quarterly figure agrees with one data provider. The document cautions that it cannot explain another provider’s discrepancy and offers a possible period mismatch; its method is specific to checking reported EPS, not assessing which adjusted measure best represents future profitability.
Key ideas
- EPS figures can differ because sources use different earnings definitions and reporting periods.
- GAAP, operating, and adjusted EPS reflect distinct treatments of exceptional items.
- Share-count conventions can create small differences in per-share calculations.
- Company and SEC filings provide a primary source for reported EPS and its components.
- Check the income statement’s earnings numerator and weighted-average share count when reconciling a figure.
Tags
Full text
# How to compute EPS? # How to compute EPS? https://www.zacks.com/stock/research/DOCN/earnings-calendar The above source says the EPSs are the following ``` - 8/5/2021 $0.07 - 5/6/2021 $0.00 ``` https://finance.yahoo.com/calendar/earnings?symbol=DOCN The above source says the EPSs are the following. ``` - 8/5/2021: -$0.02 - 5/6/2021: -$0.07 ``` https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DOCN/earnings The above source says the EPS is the following ``` - 8/5/2021: $0.10 ``` So the results are inconsistent. How to check which one is correct using the official data from SEC? ## Answer by demully (score 1) https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/69578 The sad fact here is that "earnings" on the numerator can be measured in a multitude of ways. The "per share" should be consistent (although these can differ a little, depending on whether one uses the year-end vs the year-average share count). More normal is the variation across different "E" figures. First of all, you need to make sure that one is not reporting the last quarter's results, while the other is reporting the rolling L12m, ie the sum of the same over the last four quarters reported. Even assuming consistent time-horizons, the "E" can differ, depending on the source. There is GAAP accounting (or IFRS outside the US), which is the headline number reported in the company's accounts. The issue here is how one deals with one-off "exceptionals" that are not represntative of the company's underlying true profitability. So you have an "operating EPS" that strips out below-the-line one-off exceptional charges or gains. And then you have "adjusted EPS" that is the analyst community's opinion on what the true repeatable profits were and will be, both being comparable to each other. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. The bottom line is that there are multiple "E" numbers on the numerator out there. Profits being an accounting opinion, from first principles. The trick here is to be very clear exactly what one is looking at in each and very such measure, DEM ## Answer by Dimitri Vulis (score 0) https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/66566 You go to the horse's mouth - go to the company's web site and look for their SEC filings. https://investors.digitalocean.com/financials/sec-filings/default.aspx , find "08/06/2021 Form10-Q Quarterly Report" and click on ".xls" - excel spreadsheet. In the spreadsheet, you go to the "Income Statement" tab, and you look for "Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted". For the quarter ending June 30, 2021, it is indeed -0.02, which matches Yahoo Finance. Or go to SEC's Edgar and look there: https://sec.report/CIK/0001582961 (their CIK#) and click on "10-Q Quarterly Report [latest filing - 2021-08-05 19:34:33]" and look for "Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted" - same number. This ratio is obtained by dividing "Net loss attributable to common stockholders" by "Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share, basic and diluted". Without rounding, they lost a little more, -0.0204... As for why Zacks has a different figure, you'd need to ask Zack's. Maybe it's the 6 months figure (1H21) rather than 2Q21? (As a general principle, you should be skeptical of any data that you get for free from the Internet - trust no one.)
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This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.