Martin S. Fridson > Quotes

“Suppose that, in the last few weeks of a quarter, earnings threaten to fall short of the programmed year-over-year increase. The corporation simply borrows sales (and associated profits) from the next quarter by offering customers special discounts to place orders earlier than they had planned.”
― Martin S. Fridson, Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide

“corporations routinely and unabashedly smooth their earnings. That is, they create the illusion that their profits rise at a consistent rate from year to year. Corporations engage in this behavior, with the blessing of their auditors, because the appearance of smooth growth receives a higher price-earnings multiple from stock market investors than the jagged reality underlying the numbers.”
― Martin S. Fridson, Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide

“The purpose of financial reporting is to obtain cheap capital.”
― Martin S. Fridson, Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide

“From this standpoint, the best kind of financial statement is not one that represents the corporation's condition most fully and most fairly, but rather one that produces the highest possible credit rating (see Chapter 13) and price-earnings multiple (see Chapter 14).”
― Martin S. Fridson, Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide

“Suppose, for example, the CEO's year-end bonus is based on growth in earnings per share. Assume also that for financial reporting purposes, the corporation's depreciation schedules assume an average life of eight years for fixed assets. By arbitrarily amending that assumption to nine years (and obtaining the auditors’ consent to the change), the corporation can lower its annual depreciation expense. This is strictly an accounting change; the actual cost of replacing equipment worn down through use does not decline. Neither does the corporation's tax deduction for depreciation expense rise nor, as a consequence, does cash flow11 (see Chapter 4). Investors recognize that bona fide profits (see Chapter 5) have not increased, so the corporation's stock price does not change in response to the new accounting policy. What does increase is the CEO's bonus, as a function of the artificially contrived boost in earnings per share.”
― Martin S. Fridson, Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide

“One way or another, if you succeed in amassing a billion-dollar fortune, you will also succeed in making some folks unhappy. If nothing else, you will upset the sort of people who cannot abide another person's success. You will certainly offend individuals who regard outstanding performance in the area of making money as inherently inferior to other accomplishments, such as taking first place in an athletic contest or getting elected to public office.”
― Martin S. Fridson, How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth