Net Income (GAAP)

Category

Income Statement

Units

Currency

US-GAAP elements

NetIncomeLossProfitLoss

Reference

Regulation S-X Rules 5-03.18 and 5-03.20 (Net income or loss; Net income attributable to the controlling interest)

Source

Reported in SEC EDGAR filings (US-GAAP XBRL taxonomy)

Net income (GAAP) is a company's total profit or loss for a period after every expense, loss, interest charge, and income tax recognized under US generally accepted accounting principles, attributable to the parent company's shareholders. It includes the results of both continuing and discontinued operations and excludes the share of earnings belonging to noncontrolling owners of subsidiaries.

It is the bottom line of the income statement and the starting point for earnings per share, return on equity, and the price-to-earnings ratio.

Companies tag this figure in XBRL as NetIncomeLoss, which the SEC defines as profit or loss after income taxes attributable to the parent. The consolidated figure before the noncontrolling share is removed is a separate element, ProfitLoss. Regulation S-X Rule 5-03 lists net income or loss as caption 18, then splits it between the noncontrolling interest (caption 19) and the controlling interest (caption 20). The controlling-interest amount is what this field reports.

The "GAAP" label distinguishes it from the adjusted or non-GAAP earnings many companies highlight in press releases, which exclude items such as stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangibles, restructuring charges, or impairments. SEC rules require any such adjusted figure to be reconciled back to GAAP net income, and in SEC filings the GAAP number must be given equal or greater prominence. GAAP net income includes all of those items, whether recurring or not.

Net income is an accrual measure. It recognizes revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, so it includes non-cash charges like depreciation and can differ sharply from cash generated in the period. Comparing net income with cash from operating activities is a common check on earnings quality. For per-share work, preferred dividends must still be subtracted to reach net income available to common shareholders. GeminIQ measures net income growth on a trailing twelve-month basis and does not calculate it when the earlier period's net income was zero or negative.