Apostrophe Fail: For Acronym Plurals, Just Add S

On Twitter, @DeliciousSTL shared an apostrophe fail seen on the cover of Esquire magazine:

Hey @Esquiremag, I'm wondering America's Most Inspiring CEO's WHAT?
 

Where does Esquire go wrong? It uses an apostrophe to form a plural of an acronym, which suggests possession.

Quick rules:

• With the vast majority of nouns, you form a plural by adding 's' or 'es' to the end of the word.
• The Associated Press Stylebook makes an exception for single letters: "Use 's. Mind your p's and q's. He learned the three R's and brought home a report card with four A's and two B's. The Oakland A's won the pennant."
• The AP Stylebook has a different rule for multiple letters: "Add s: She knows her ABCs. I gave him five IOUs. Four VIPs were there."

 Correction:

• America's Most Inspiring CEOs

Note: It doesn't help that the news media often flip-flops about how to form plural acronyms. Check out the inconsistency in these recent headlines from The New York Times:

• Sept. 27, 2012: Young CEOs to Compete for Title of Best Young Entrepreneur, Cash and Prizes at NFTE's 2012 National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, Presented by MasterCard
• Sept. 22, 2012: C.E.O.’s and the Pay-’Em-or-Lose-’Em Myth
• May 21, 2012: CEOs and CIOs Are Increasingly Disconnected