NVIDIA believes the presentation of its non-GAAP financial measures enhances the user’s overall understanding of the company’s historical financial performance. Free cash flow is calculated as GAAP net cash provided by operating activities less both purchases of property and equipment and intangible assets and principal payments on property and equipment and intangible assets. These reconciliations adjust the related GAAP financial measures to exclude acquisition termination costs, stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related and other costs, contributions, IP-related costs, legal settlement costs, gains and losses from non-affiliated investments, interest expense related to amortization of debt discount, the associated tax impact of these items where applicable, domestication tax benefit, and foreign tax benefit.

For NVIDIA’s investors to be better able to compare its current results with those of previous periods, the company has shown a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures. Measures include non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP other income (expense), net, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income, or earnings, per diluted share, and free cash flow.

Nvda earnings report date 2016