Week of September 26 to October 2, 2026 · written October 23, 2026 from that week's filings

Every company now reports two profits: the official one, and its own. Neither is a lie. The trouble starts when we read only the one we like.

FactSet missed its own profit target for the year, and beat it. Official profit per share was $14.57, below its $14.85 to $15.35 target. Its own measure was $18.01, above its $17.25 to $17.75 target. The difference, FactSet says, includes "one-time restructuring charges" and "one-time CEO compensation costs."

Both numbers are honest. The official count includes every cost. The company's count leaves some out. People tend to pick whichever number suits the mood they're already in. That's human, and it's expensive.

A household that replaced its roof this year overspent, counting the roof. Leaving it out, it saved. You need both to know how the family is doing.

We all lean toward the number that agrees with us. Reading both counts is how you stop arguing with yourself.

That's the Quiet Room question: which count is this, and what does it leave out? One company shows the two counts pulling apart; one shows them moving together.

FactSet: one target missed, one beaten.

In the year to August 31, sales grew 6.7%, to $2.48 billion. That beat its own target of $2.45 to $2.47 billion. Official profit per share fell 6.3%. Its own measure rose 6.1%. Same company, same year, two directions.

The counterexample is Accenture, where both counts point the same way.

Accenture: two counts, both up, and a range beaten.

In the year to August 31, profit per share grew 12%, to $13.56. On its own measure, it grew 8%, to $13.97. In the quarter to August 31, sales were $18.7 billion. That was above its own range of $17.75 to $18.40 billion. When both counts rise, there is less to argue about.