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OMAHA, Neb.—In the parking lot outside Elliott Equipment Co.’s manufacturing plant here last month, more than a hundred employees gathered in front of a banner-bedecked truck, its raised boom flying an American flag 30 feet overhead, to hear from the company’s chief executive and the local congressman.

A financial obfuscation of the dot-com era is making a comeback: Hundreds of U.S. companies are trumpeting adjusted net income, adjusted sales and “adjusted Ebitda.”

When Samuel J. Palmisano retires next month, he'll enjoy a generous goodbye present: The former International Business Machines Corp. chief will earn $20,000 for any day he spends four hours advising his longtime employer.