Harvard Business Review

APRIL 5, 2017

If a company has beat or missed its EPS targets by less than two cents , that means the company has nipped and tucked its quarterly results just enough to meet the target EPS number it committed to analysts. What if concentrated market power of a few companies in an industry has made these companies more profitable than usual?

EPS 9

EPS Metrics Depreciation Short-term 9

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 30, 2013

That opportunistic approach to financial markets has defined Amazon since it went public in 1997. When Uncle Wall Street (also known as Mr. Market ) is in a generous mood, Bezos is always ready to take advantage by putting investment ahead of profitability. billion bond issue just before the debt-market meltdown of autumn 2008.

Training 10

Training Bond Christensen Long-term 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 6, 2016

Four hundred seventy-one companies in the S&P 500 bought back stock last year, and 372 companies expanded their dividends — actions undertaken in spite of the need to invest heavily to keep up with global market changes. The downside of this “shareholder friendly” approach is evident at many companies.

Long-term 8

Long-term Incentives Short-term Management 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Among the firms we identified as focused on the long term, average revenue and earnings growth were 47% and 36% higher, respectively, by 2014, and market capitalization grew faster as well. After all, “short-termism” does not correspond to any single quantifiable metric. public market capitalization over this period.

Long-term 8

Long-term EPS Short-term Management 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 17, 2011

Carol wanted to promote someone from within; however, that executive lacked the broad discipline knowledge of channels, marketing and sales ops. Convincing me took only this: "You'll be among my top leadership team, fix anything that can and will go wrong, and you can drive every new strategy to drive our market growth."

EPS 15

EPS Strategy Reference Execution 15