Incorrect Tagging for Earnings Per Share Data

Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), certain entities are required to present basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) with equal prominence on the face of the income statement for each period presented in their annual and interim reports [1]. The data should be tagged using GAAP Financial Reporting taxonomy elements us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic and us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted. In filings where basic and diluted EPS have the same value and are presented only once on the face of the income statement, an entity should tag that amount twice using both tags.

Staff in the Commission’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis has observed the following incorrect tagging practices by filers in certain Forms 10-Q or 10-K submitted during 2024:

• Creating custom tags such as BasicAndDilutedEarningsPerShare to tag this amount;
• Tagging this amount only once using one of the two standard tags; and
• Tagging this amount using a standard tag that was deprecated in 2022.

Incorrect tagging for EPS would negatively impact the usability of the data (for example, tagging the amount only once will lose either basic or diluted EPS information). Filers are encouraged to review their tagging on EPS data and make necessary corrections. For more data quality reminders, see Staff Observations and Guidance.