Analysis
Long reads built from what CFOs said in their companies' own earnings releases and from the SEC filings behind those releases. Each count is recomputed from the record, and each quote links to its exhibit.
Reading an earnings release
An earnings report is a release, a call and a 10-Q. We counted the sections of 120 Exhibit 99.1 releases and where the CFO's quoted words sit in each one.
November 11, 2026 · 8 min read · 3 charts
GAAP and non-GAAP in the release
GAAP vs non-GAAP, counted: which measures 120 earnings releases adjust, the add-backs their reconciliations list, and how CFOs introduce the adjusted figure.
November 11, 2026 · 8 min read · 3 charts
Free cash flow and cash conversion
Free cash flow has no single definition. We collected the formulas 21 companies print in their earnings releases, grouped them and set them beside SEC guidance.
November 11, 2026 · 8 min read · 3 charts
Capex and AI infrastructure spending
What capex is and where companies report it: the cash flow line, its XBRL tags, the 21 labels 57 companies use for it, and the MD&A rule on capital commitments.
November 11, 2026 · 7 min read · 3 charts
Share repurchases, dividends and capital allocation
How a share repurchase shows up in filings: the Item 703 table in 76 latest 10-Qs, the cash flow line in XBRL, Rule 10b-18, and CFO buyback quotes verbatim.
November 11, 2026 · 8 min read · 3 charts
Guidance, outlook and the safe harbor
What earnings guidance is and how releases word it: what 49 outlook sections guide, how ranges are stated, and which words mark a raise, counted from filings.
November 11, 2026 · 8 min read · 3 charts
Fiscal years and reporting calendars
Fiscal year vs calendar year, from EDGAR: 139 of 500 S&P 500 companies and 32 of 76 on CFO Voice end the year off December 31, by month, industry and weeks.
November 11, 2026 · 9 min read · 3 charts