A Wall Street Journal report looks at how Yahoo and Google don’t count revenue the same way, making it hard to compare many aspects of the companies’ finances.
Google uses a more conservative definition that has the effect of damping its revenue and increasing its profit margins.
The differences demonstrate that accounting standards may be “generally accepted,” but they aren’t always uniformly interpreted. And details about revenue-recognition policies buried in the fine print of financial statements can trip up less-than-seasoned investors.
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