18. 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.