Alternative performance measures' disclosure quality in the 2024 press release and management report

This study examines the disclosure quality of alternative performance measures (APMs) in 2024 press releases and management reports. Based on the ESMA guidelines on APMs, we established a disclosure index to capture the disclosure quality amongst European listed companies. We find the disclosure quality in the management report to be significantly better than the disclosure quality in the press release while, notably, these press releases are often published before the external audit of the financial statements is completed. Moreover, it is not always clear from the press releases whether the GAAP financial information has been audited or not. Our study further showed that almost all companies applied APMs on their first page of their Q4 press releases and management reports. In addition, the effects of the forthcoming IFRS 18 standard are discussed in this study.