the earnings season under way contains clues pointing to a factor that could weigh on a number of stocks in the months ahead, even if the central bank makes good on signals it will stop raising its target for interest rates. Those signals from the Fed sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a six-year high last week, as investors cheered the possible end to higher borrowing costs for U.S. companies and consumers.

Thanks to new accounting rules, many companies reporting results this month are counting employee stock options as a cost for the first time, giving many investors their first look at how heavily options can cut into earnings: a lot.

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