Getting Inside the Accounting at Gilead, Sirius and Netflix

Focusing on whether or not a company's quarterly earnings beat Wall Street's analyst consensus is a foolish game. Investors are far better-served assessing the strategic, value-creating assets of the enterprise instead, says Baruch Lev, author of The End of Accounting. 'Focus on those assets, and measure the performance of those assets and how they are protected,' says Lev. 'That's the new way for both disclosure and investors.' Shares of Gilead Sciences (GILD) - Get Report , for example, fell over 10 percent in April after the pharmaceutical company posted earnings of $3.03 a share on $7.79 billion in revenue compared to analyst forecasts of $3.15 a share on $8.12 billion in revenue. Lev said the profit miss should not hold investors back from purchasing Gilead's stock, down 17 percent year-to-date, because of its deep pipeline and dominant market-share in areas like HIV and hepatitis C drugs. 'They will overcome this miss,' says Lev, adding that Gilead loves the company's disclosure because it offers a 'beautiful progression of its product pipeline.' Lev also likes the disclosure for Sirius XM (SIRI) - Get Report , down three percent year-to-date, as well at its stock. He said it holds a dominant market-share in satellite radio and has a huge penetration in the new car market.