EARNINGS CALL
by Jonathan Sheffi and Ken Stern
Solution: SAME-SEX MARRIAGES
The questions in the transcript refer to specific line items in the income statement. For each question's answer by the CEO, determine the line item and index X letters (where X is the number after the decimal point) into the Yth word (where Y is the number before the decimal point). Doing so gets four letters for each year, spelling MAKE A RESTATEMENT.
| 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $22.6 (M) | $21.5 (A) | $20.5 (T) | $19.3 (M) |
| Labor | $2.2 (A) | $1.8 (R) | $1.5 (A) | $1.2 (E) |
| Marketing | $3.4 (K) | $2.8 (E) | $2.5 (T) | $2.4 (N) |
| Operating Expenses | $6.3 (E) | $5.6 (S) | $4.7 (E) | $4.2 (T) |
Going to the website specified in the transcript reveals a note which tells the solver to log into a different directory with the username lspokket, and a THREEWORDPASSWORD, which is MAKEARESTATEMENT (in capitals with no spaces, like THREEWORDPASSWORD).
Entering this username and password gets you the "breaking news" that requires you to make a restatement on all the numbers. After applying the bad news to each of the line items, using the same process as before spells SAME-SEX MARRIAGES.
| 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (-20%) | $18.1 (S) | $17.2 (S) | $16.4 (A) | $15.4 (A) |
| Labor (tripled) | $6.6 (A) | $5.4 (E) | $4.5 (R) | $3.6 (G) |
| Marketing (+10% of actual revenue) | $5.2 (M) | $4.5 (X) | $4.1 (R) | $3.9 (E) |
| Operating Expenses (+$2.5/year) | $8.8 (E) | $8.1 (M) | $7.2 (I) | $6.7 (S) |