P Co Issued 5,000 Shares of Its Common Stock, Valued at at $200,000

Multiple Choice

P Co. issued 5,000 shares of its common stock, valued at $200,000, to the former shareholders of S Company two years after S Company was acquired in an all-stock transaction. The additional shares were issued because P Company agreed to issue additional shares of common stock if the average post combination earnings over the next two years exceeded $500,000. P Company will treat the issuance of the additional shares as a (decrease in) :

A) consolidated retained earnings.
B) consolidated goodwill.
C) consolidated paid-in capital.
D) non-current liabilities of S Company assumed by P Company.