ROLE OF THE SUSTAINABLE EARNINGS BASE
The sustainable earnings base provides earnings information from which the distorting effects of nonrecurring items have been removed. Some analysts refer to such revised numbers as representing “core” or “underlying” earnings. Sustainable is used here in the sense that earnings devoid of nonrecurring items of revenue, gain, expense, and loss are much more likely to be maintained in the future, other things equal. Base implies that sustainable earnings provide the most reliable foundation or starting point for projections of future results. The more reliable such forecasts become, the less the likelihood that earnings surprises will result. Again, Phillips Petroleum captures the essence of nonrecurring items in the following:
Net income is affected by transactions defined by management and termed “special items,” which are not representative of the company’s ongoing operations. These transactions can obscure the underlying operating results for a period and affect comparability of operating results between periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
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