(MONEY Magazine) – Don't be alarmed next earnings season if you happen upon the term "OIBDA." First off, there's no consensus on its pronunciation ("oyb-duh?" "oy-bee-da?"), and its origins are neither Yiddish nor Lennon-McCartney. It stands for "operating income before depreciation and amortization," and, at the SEC's urging, it's replacing the often misused EBITDA on earnings reports of firms including Time Warner (MONEY's parent) and Yahoo. As with EBITDA, profits stated this way don't account for interest payments, taxes and other cash charges a company must pay. Our advice: Ignore OIBDA comparisons and focus on free cash flow (net income plus amortization and depreciation expenses). "A stock is a claim on what is left of earnings after all other obligations are satisfied," says Hussman Funds' John Hussman. That's what free cash flow measures. "Everything else," notes Hussman, "is entertainment." --JONAH FREEDMAN