Martin S. Fridson

“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