NRG Energy Used This Accounting Trick to Make Its Earnings Look Less Volatile
While that smooths the company's results, it poses a dilemma for investors. NRG's stock, up 65% this year, trades at 23 times trailing earnings. Illustration: Emil Lendof/WSJ, iStock NRG Energy NRG -4.11 %decrease; red down pointing triangle, one of the S&P 500's biggest year-to-date gainers, has volatile earnings due to its large derivatives-trading operation. Late last year, an accounting switcheroo let it start acting like some of those gyrations don't exist. ...