Originally Posted by
787fan
anyone can see that those aren't apples to apples, and you can see that DL is choosing the most positive figure in their headline even though it excludes way more items than the industry norm.
Are you under the impression that any sizable number of people invest off of the headlines in press releases?
Originally Posted by
787fan
The fact that their headline of $1.6B and their true GAAP net inc including specials of $357m is a testament to how much ridiculous fudging they're applying.
Quick question: if DL's specials are simply to fudge the numbers to their benefit, why did they call their MTM gains in Q3-13 a special item? And were you decrying them doing so at that time? It isn't fudging the numbers if you are consistent in your treatment.
GAAP isn't perfect and teasing out special items can play an important role in helping investors compare performance of the core business over time.
Originally Posted by
787fan
But the lazy will just read their headline bullets and think that the $1.6B DL touts is actually comparable to the $1.1B mentioned in UA's headline, and thus incorrectly conclude that DL is doing way better than UA even though the true final metric is really horrible :
Who cares about the lazy? Certainly not UAL or DAL, as they are overwhelmingly owned by institutions.