ACCOUNTING MAGIC - "X" MARKS THE SPOT!

-- SOURCE: 06-21-18 RealInvestmentAdvice.com, Lance Roberts - "Earnings Estimates - The Fade Begins (And 'X' Marks The Accounting Magic Spot)" --

Accounting Magic

Looking back it is interesting to see that much of the rise in “profitability” since the recessionary lows have come from a variety of cost-cutting measures and accounting gimmicks rather than actual increases in top line revenue. As shown in the chart below, there has been a stunning surge in corporate profitability despite a lack of revenue growth. Since 2009, the reported earnings per share of corporations has increased by a total of 336%. This is the sharpest post-recession rise in reported EPS in history. However, that sharp increase in earnings did not come from revenue which has only increased by a marginal 49% during the same period.

Of course, stock buybacks have been the “go to” method for boosting earnings. According to Greg Haendel from Wealth Management:

“The largest beneficiary of repatriation spending has been the stockholder with the most utilized tool being corporate stock buybacks. Share buybacks increased during Q12018 to a record $178 billion, up from $135 billion a year ago. Further, the 24 U.S. companies with the largest foreign cash holdings accounted for two-thirds of the increase in share buybacks. There has already been $324 billion of buyback announcements year-to-date with an expected total buyback amount of $800 billion for the year. ”

Furthermore, while the majority of buybacks have been done with “repatriated” cash, it just goes to show how much cash has been used to boost earnings rather than expanding production, making productive acquisitions or returning cash to shareholders. 

Ultimately, the problem with cost-cutting, wage suppression, labor hoarding and stock buybacks, along with a myriad of accounting gimmicks, is that there is a finite limit to their effectiveness. Eventually, you simply run out of people to fire, costs to cut and the ability to reduce labor costs.