SEC v. ADT Inc. (2018)

Settled

Checked against the primary document on October 2, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In December 2018 the SEC settled with ADT over earnings releases that gave non-GAAP measures more prominence than comparable GAAP measures. ADT paid a $100,000 civil penalty. No insider trading is alleged.

The record

Structured fields for this action, as recorded in our case library.
Agency	SEC
Release number	3-18955
Date filed	2018-12-26
Date resolved	2018-12-26
Status	settled
Asset class	equities
Venue	NYSE
Criminal parallel	No
Defendants	ADT Inc. (entity)
Cited as charged or alleged	Exchange Act s.13(a) (statutes and rules cited in the document; not a finding that they were violated)
Techniques

What was ordered

Civil penalty: $100k
Disgorgement: —
Prejudgment interest: —
Total relief: $100k
Alleged gain: —

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the order on December 26, 2018.

The order finds ADT's earnings releases of March 15 and May 9, 2018 did not give equal or greater prominence to comparable GAAP figures, violating Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13a-11.

A passing reference to material non-public information in the rules summary triggered the earlier tag, which has been removed.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

Timeline

2018-12-26 Administrative proceeding instituted (cease-and-desist)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

SEC order

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.