When the numbers help the negotiationThe study's key takeaway is straightforward but powerful: when target companies publicly disclose non-GAAP earnings, bidders tend to make more efficient offers. Non-GAAP disclosures, when credible, give bidders an early glimpse of "core earnings," making valuations more precise and negotiations more grounded. Serving as reference points: Public non-GAAP disclosures create a benchmark for assessing the credibility of private financials. To distinguish good from bad, we measured alignment between management-defined and analyst-defined non-GAAP earnings, and we also examined SEC correspondence. Non-GAAP reporting isn't inherently problematic; poor non-GAAP reporting is.