With end markets decelerating, SMART Global Holdings (SGH), a designer and manufacturer of specialty solutions for the computing, memory, and LED markets, suddenly expects its equipment to last 60-percent longer than previously thought. In its latest quarterly filing, SMART Global revealed it had extended the useful life estimates of its manufacturing equipment from five years to eight years.

The accounting change slashed depreciation expense by $2.7 million. It also lifted net income by $1.3 million, or 32.5%. The new assumption accounts for $0.03 of earnings per share (EPS), or 30% of reported EPS.