One-Time Charge

Definition

One-time charge is a non-recurring, extraordinary expense charged to a company’s earnings, usually noted in a company’s financial results. This expense may arise from unforeseen circumstances like restructuring costs, costs from layoffs, or a large asset write-down. The deduction is not expected to happen again in the company’s future economic activities.

Phonetic

The phonetic pronunciation of “One-Time Charge” is: wʌn-taim chɑ:rdʒ

Key Takeaways

1. One-Time Charge refers to a non-recurring expense or financial obligation that a company or individual faces only once. Examples may include costs for repairing equipment, legal fees, or restructuring costs.
2. Although these expenses are infrequent, they can significantly impact the company or individual’s profit and loss statement for that period. It’s crucial to budget for possible one-time charges to cushion against potential financial strain.
3. One-Time Charges are essential to account for when analyzing a company’s financial health. These expenses, despite being irregular, could indicate potential underlying issues that could affect the company’s profitability in the long term.

Importance

The business/finance term “One-Time Charge” is important because it provides vital insight into the financial health and operational aspects of a company. One-time charge refers to a cost or expense that a company recognizes only once and does not expect to encounter again. These charges could be associated with events such as layoffs, restructuring, asset write-downs, or other nonrecurring events. In financial analysis, these one-time charges are often excluded from the company’s recurring operational earnings to provide a clearer picture of the company’s regular income-generating capability and financial performance. Hence, understanding one-time charges is crucial for investors, financial analysts, and other stakeholders when evaluating a company’s earnings, profitability, and future prospects.

Explanation

The main purpose of a one-time charge is for businesses to account for unexpected, non-recurring expenses on their financial statements. These expenses are significant costs that are not part of the regular operations of the business and are not expected to recur in the foreseeable future. They might arise from events such as restructuring of the business, costs related to layoffs or employee severances, write-offs or write-downs, litigation, or acquiring or disposing of assets. By explicitly classifying these expenses as one-time charges, the businesses ensure transparency in their reporting which helps investors and financial analysts in ascertaining a more accurate picture of the ongoing, operational profitability of the company.

One-time charges also serve the purpose of setting out clear distinctions between the business’s regular operational expenses and extraordinary (non-recurring) expenses. These charges are often excluded from the business’s adjusted earnings results and are treated distinctly due to their unique, non-recurring nature. This separation is useful for both management and investors as it aids in evaluating the company’s performance from its core operations. For instance, a company might be having a profitable year from its core operations but might have suffered a one-off, severe financial hit from settling a lawsuit. By isolating this one-time charge from the regular income statement, it provides a clearer reflection of the true ongoing financial performance of the business.

Examples

1. Restructuring Costs: A company might undergo a significant change in its business model or operations. This could involve closing down certain departments, redundancy payments, or selling off assets. The costs incurred during this process are not part of regular business operations and thus are recorded as one-time charges. For instance, when Microsoft announced a reorganization of its phone hardware business in 2015, it also disclosed a one-time restructuring charge of approximately $7.6 billion related to assets associated with the acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services (NDS) business.

2. Litigation Settlement: If a company is sued and loses the case or chooses to settle the dispute outside of court, the financial loss or payout that follows is considered a one-time charge. For example, in 2020, Apple paid a one-time charge of $500 million to settle the lawsuit over their admission of intentionally slowing down older iPhones.

3. Impairment of assets: If a company’s assets lose value for any reason, such as a significant fall in market value or due to damage, and the company has to write down the value on its financial statements, this is also a one-time charge. For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis, many banks had to write down the value of their mortgage-backed securities, leading to huge one-time charges.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

Related Finance Terms

• Extraordinary Expense
• Non-recurring Expense
• Special Item
• Write-off
• Impairment Expense

Sources for More Information

• Investopedia
• Corporate Finance Institute
• Fincash
• Law Insider