Shares of insurance company Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) are down 32.5% as of 12:59 p.m. ET in response to what can only be considered a disastrous third-quarter report. Yet none of last quarter's massive loss reflects the organization's actual, long-term operating viability.

For the three-month stretch ending in September, Lincoln National turned $4.6 billion worth of revenue into a loss of nearly $2.6 billion, or a loss of $15.17 per share. After adjusting for the impact of a goodwill impairment charge, the loss was pared back to only $1.7 billion, or $10.23 per share.

Those adjusted figures, however, still don't tell the entire story. The insurer's quarterly results also reflect "unfavorable notable items" totaling $2 billion worth of charges -- an adverse impact of $11.62 -- linked to a yearly review of its deferred acquisition costs and subsequent changes to its reserve assumptions. Stripping out all of its unusual charges puts the company back into the black for the quarter in question.

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Source Fool.com