Investopedia

One-Time Charge

Dictionary Says

Definition of 'One-Time Charge'

A charge against earnings that is expected to be an isolated one and not likely to occur again. A one-time charge can either be a cash charge - for example, severance expenses associated with workforce reduction and early retirement - or a non-cash charge, such as an asset write-down. One-time charges are routinely excluded by analysts when evaluating a company's continued earnings potential.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'One-Time Charge'

While some charges are clearly one-time in nature, many companies wrongly book charges that are incurred in the normal course of business as one-time charges - a tendency that investors need to watch out for. For example, a technology company may be justified if it writes off restructuring charges as a one-time charge. But if the company also writes down inventory every other quarter and tries to pass it off as one-time charges, then it is debatable if these inventory write-down charges are truly one-time in nature.



Articles Of Interest

  1. Understanding Pro-Forma Earnings

    These figures can either shed light on a company's performance or skew it. Find out why.
  2. Impairment Charges: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

    Impairment charge is a term for writing off worthless goodwill, but you need to know what its potential impact is on EPS.
  3. The One-Time Expense Warning

    These income statement red flags may not spell a company's downfall. Learn why here.
  4. Detecting Accounting Manipulation

    "One-time charges" and "investment gains" are two strategies companies can use to distort their numbers.
  5. Earnings Guidance: Can It Accurately Predict The Future?

    Explore the controversies surrounding companies commenting on their forward-looking expectations.
  6. Depreciation: Straight-Line Vs. Double-Declining Methods

    Appreciate the different methods used to describe how book value is "used up".
  7. Financial Statement: Extraordinary Vs. Nonrecurring Items

    When it comes to analyzing a company, successful analysts spend considerable time differentiating between accounting items that are likely to recur going forward from those that most likely will ...
  8. Get A Career In Showbiz Accounting

    An accounting career doesn't have to be boring. If you love numbers, but want excitement as well, consider the field of showbiz accounting.
  9. What Management Accountants Do

    If you like keeping track of a company's income and expenses but also want to hold a position with significant responsibility and authority, management accounting could be the job for you.
  10. The Basics Of A Financial Analysis Report

    Running financial analysis on a company or industry is a key skill every investor must learn and understand how to undertake without which an ineffective financial report and investment recommendation ...
comments powered by Disqus
Marketplace
Hot Definitions
  1. Winner's Curse

    Because of incomplete information, emotions or any other number of factors regarding the item being auctioned, bidders can have a difficult time determining the item's intrinsic value. As a result, the largest overestimation of an item's value ends up winning the auction.
  2. Glocalization

    A combination of the words "globalization" and "localization" used to describe a product or service that is developed and distributed globally, but is also fashioned to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market.
  3. Disaster Loss

    A special type of tax-deductible loss, similar to a casualty loss, where a loss has been incurred by taxpayers who reside in an area that has been designated as a federal disaster area by the President.
  4. Fool In The Shower

    The notion that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once.
  5. Pattern Day Trader

    An SEC designation for traders who trade the same security four or more times per day (buys and sells) over a five-day period, and for whom same-day trades make up at least 6% of their activity for that period.
  6. Cost-Push Inflation

    A phenomenon in which the general price levels rise (inflation) due to increases in the cost of wages and raw materials.
Trading Center