Definition of Earnings per share (EPS)

Earnings per share (EPS)

eps, as it is called, is a company's profit divided by its number of outstanding
shares. If a company earned $2 million in one year had 2 million shares of stock outstanding, its eps would
be $1 per share. The company often uses a weighted average of shares outstanding over the reporting term.

earnings per share (EPS)

See basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share.

basic earnings per share (EPS)

This important ratio equals the net
income for a period (usually one year) divided by the number capital
stock shares issued by a business corporation. This ratio is so important
for publicly owned business corporations that it is included in the daily
stock trading tables published by the Wall Street Journal, the New York
Times, and other major newspapers. Despite being a rather straightforward
concept, there are several technical problems in calculating
earnings per share. Actually, two eps ratios are needed for many businesses—
basic eps, which uses the actual number of capital shares outstanding,
and diluted eps, which takes into account additional shares of
stock that may be issued for stock options granted by a business and
other stock shares that a business is obligated to issue in the future.
Also, many businesses report not one but two net income figures—one
before extraordinary gains and losses were recorded in the period and a
second after deducting these nonrecurring gains and losses. Many business
corporations issue more than one class of capital stock, which
makes the calculation of their earnings per share even more complicated.

diluted earnings per share (EPS)

This measure of earnings per share
recognizes additional stock shares that may be issued in the future for
stock options and as may be required by other contracts a business has
entered into, such as convertible features in its debt securities and preferred
stock. Both basic earnings per share and, if applicable, diluted
earnings per share are reported by publicly owned business corporations.
Often the two eps figures are not far apart, but in some cases the
gap is significant. Privately owned businesses do not have to report earnings
per share. See also basic earnings per share.

PPF (periodic perpetuity factor)

a generalization formula invented by Abrams that is the present value of regular but noncontiguous cash flows that have constant growth to perpetuity.

Accounting earnings

earnings of a firm as reported on its income statement.

American shares

Securities certificates issued in the U.S. by a transfer agent acting on behalf of the foreign
issuer. The certificates represent claims to foreign equities.

Annual fund operating expenses

For investment companies, the management fee and "other expenses,"
including the expenses for maintaining shareholder records, providing shareholders with financial statements,
and providing custodial and accounting services. For 12b-1 funds, selling and marketing costs are included.

Annual percentage rate (APR)

The periodic rate times the number of periods in a year. For example, a 5%
quarterly return has an APR of 20%.

Annual percentage yield (APY)

The effective, or true, annual rate of return. The APY is the rate actually
earned or paid in one year, taking into account the affect of compounding. The APY is calculated by taking
one plus the periodic rate and raising it to the number of periods in a year. For example, a 1% per month rate
has an APY of 12.68% (1.01^12).

Annualized holding period return

The annual rate of return that when compounded t times, would have
given the same t-period holding return as actually occurred from period 1 to period t.

Authorized shares

Number of shares authorized for issuance by a firm's corporate charter.

Average collection period, or days' receivables

The ratio of accounts receivables to sales, or the total
amount of credit extended per dollar of daily sales (average AR/sales * 365).

BARRA's performance analysis (PERFAN)

A method developed by BARRA, a consulting firm in
Berkeley, Calif. It is commonly used by institutional investors applying performance attribution analysis to
evaluate their money managers' performances.

Book value per share

The ratio of stockholder equity to the average number of common shares. Book value
per share should not be thought of as an indicator of economic worth, since it reflects accounting valuation
(and not necessarily market valuation).

Capital market imperfections view

The view that issuing debt is generally valuable but that the firm's
optimal choice of capital structure is a dynamic process that involves the other views of capital structure (net
corporate/personal tax, agency cost, bankruptcy cost, and pecking order), which result from considerations of
asymmetric information, asymmetric taxes, and transaction costs.

Cash flow from operations

A firm's net cash inflow resulting directly from its regular operations
(disregarding extraordinary items such as the sale of fixed assets or transaction costs associated with issuing
securities), calculated as the sum of net income plus non-cash expenses that were deducted in calculating net
income.

Cash flow per common share

Cash flow from operations minus preferred stock dividends, divided by the
number of common shares outstanding.

Commercial paper

Short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by a corporation. The maturity of
commercial paper is typically less than 270 days; the most common maturity range is 30 to 50 days or less.

Committee, AIMR Performance Presentation Standards Implementation Committee

The Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR)'s performance Presentation Standards Implementation
Committee is charged with the responsibility to interpret, revise and update the AIMR performance
Presentation Standards (AIMR-PPS(TM)) for portfolio performance presentations.

Compounding period

The length of the time period (for example, a quarter in the case of quarterly
compounding) that elapses before interest compounds.

Credit period

The length of time for which the customer is granted credit.

Direct paper

Commercial paper sold directly by the issuer to investors.

Discount period

The period during which a customer can deduct the discount from the net amount of the bill
when making payment.

Discounted payback period rule

An investment decision rule in which the cash flows are discounted at an
interest rate and the payback rule is applied on these discounted cash flows.

Dividends per share

Amount of cash paid to shareholders expressed as dollars per share.

Dividends per share

Dividends paid for the past 12 months divided by the number of common shares
outstanding, as reported by a company. The number of shares often is determined by a weighted average of
shares outstanding over the reporting term.

Earnings

Net income for the company during the period.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)

A financial measure defined as revenues less cost of goods sold
and selling, general, and administrative expenses. In other words, operating and non-operating profit before
the deduction of interest and income taxes.

Earnings retention ratio

Plowback rate.

Earnings surprises

Positive or negative differences from the consensus forecast of earnings by institutions
such as First Call or IBES. Negative earnings surprises generally have a greater adverse affect on stock prices
than the reciprocal positive earnings surprise on stock prices.

Earnings yield

The ratio of earnings per share after allowing for tax and interest payments on fixed interest
debt, to the current share price. The inverse of the price/earnings ratio. It's the Total Twelve Months earnings
divided by number of outstanding shares, divided by the recent price, multiplied by 100. The end result is
shown in percentage.

Economic earnings

The real flow of cash that a firm could pay out forever in the absence of any change in
the firm's productive capacity.

Euro-commercial paper

Short-term notes with maturities up to 360 days that are issued by companies in
international money markets.

Evaluation period

The time interval over which a money manager's performance is evaluated.

Expected value of perfect information

The expected value if the future uncertain outcomes could be known
minus the expected value with no additional information.

FHA prepayment experience

The percentage of loans in a pool of mortgages outstanding at the origination
anniversary, based on annual statistical historic survival rates for FHA-insured mortgages.

Fully diluted earnings per shares

earnings per share expressed as if all outstanding convertible securities
and warrants have been exercised.

Funds From Operations (FFO)

Used by real estate and other investment trusts to define the cash flow from
trust operations. It is earnings with depreciation and amortization added back. A similar term increasingly
used is Funds Available for Distribution (FAD), which is FFO less capital investments in trust property and
the amortization of mortgages.

Growing perpetuity

A constant stream of cash flows without end that is expected to rise indefinitely.

Holding period

Length of time that an individual holds a security.

Holding period return

The rate of return over a given period.

Income statement (statement of operations)

A statement showing the revenues, expenses, and income (the
difference between revenues and expenses) of a corporation over some period of time.

Issued share capital

Total amount of shares that are in issue. Related: outstanding shares.

Low price-earnings ratio effect

The tendency of portfolios of stocks with a low price-earnings ratio to
outperform portfolios consisting of stocks with a high price-earnings ratio.

Management/closely held shares

percentage of shares held by persons closely related to a company, as
defined by the Securities and exchange commission. Part of these percentages often is included in
Institutional Holdings -- making the combined total of these percentages over 100. There is overlap as
institutions sometimes acquire enough stock to be considered by the SEC to be closely allied to the company.

Multiperiod immunization

A portfolio strategy in which a portfolio is created that will be capable of
satisfying more than one predetermined future liability regardless if interest rates change.

Net operating losses

Losses that a firm can take advantage of to reduce taxes.

Net operating margin

The ratio of net operating income to net sales.

Net period

The period of time between the end of the discount period and the date payment is due.

Neutral period

In the Euromarket, a period over which Eurodollars are sold is said to be neutral if it does not
start or end on either a Friday or the day before a holiday.

Open-market operation

Purchase or sale of government securities by the monetary authorities to increase or
decrease the domestic money supply.

Open-market purchase operation

A systematic program of repurchasing shares of stock in market
transactions at current market prices, in competition with other prospective investors.

Operating cash flow

earnings before depreciation minus taxes. It measures the cash generated from
operations, not counting capital spending or working capital requirements.

Operating cycle

The average time intervening between the acquisition of materials or services and the final
cash realization from those acquisitions.

Operating exposure

Degree to which exchange rate changes, in combination with price changes, will alter a
company's future operating cash flows.

Operating profit margin

The ratio of operating margin to net sales.

Operating lease

Short-term, cancelable lease. A type of lease in which the period of contract is less than the
life of the equipment and the lessor pays all maintenance and servicing costs.

Operating leverage

Fixed operating costs, so-called because they accentuate variations in profits.

Operating risk

The inherent or fundamental risk of a firm, without regard to financial risk. The risk that is
created by operating leverage. Also called business risk.

Operationally efficient market

Also called an internally efficient market, one in which investors can obtain
transactions services that reflect the true costs associated with furnishing those services.

Outstanding share capital

Issued share capital less the par value of shares that are held in the company's treasury.

Outstanding shares

shares that are currently owned by investors.

Overperform

When a security is expected to appreciate at a rate faster than the overall market.

Paper

Money market instruments, commercial paper and other.

Paper gain (loss)

Unrealized capital gain (loss) on securities held in portfolio, based on a comparison of
current market price to original cost.

Perfect capital market

A market in which there are never any arbitrage opportunities.

Perfect competition

An idealized market environment in which every market participant is too small to affect
the market price by acting on its own.

Perfect hedge

A financial result in which the profit and loss from the underlying asset and the hedge position
are equal.

Perfect market view (of capital structure)

Analysis of a firm's capital structure decision, which shows the
irrelevance of capital structure in a perfect capital market.

Perfect market view (of dividend policy)

Analysis of a decision on dividend policy, in a perfect capital
market environment, that shows the irrelevance of dividend policy in a perfect capital market.

Perfectly competitive financial markets

Markets in which no trader has the power to change the price of
goods or services. perfect capital markets are characterized by the following conditions: 1) trading is costless,
and access to the financial markets is free, 2) information about borrowing and lending opportunities is freely
available, 3) there are many traders, and no single trader can have a significant impact on market prices.

Perfected first lien

A first lien that is duly recorded with the cognizant governmental body so that the lender
will be able to act on it should the borrower default.

Performance attribution analysis

The decomposition of a money manager's performance results to explain
the reasons why those results were achieved. This analysis seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What
were the major sources of added value? (2) Was short-term factor timing statistically significant? (3) Was
market timing statistically significant? And (4), Was security selection statistically significant?

Performance evaluation

The evaluation of a manager's performance which involves, first, determining
whether the money manager added value by outperforming the established benchmark (performance
measurement) and, second, determining how the money manager achieved the calculated return (performance
attribution analysis).

Performance measurement

The calculation of the return realized by a money manager over some time interval.

Performance shares

shares of stock given to managers on the basis of performance as measured by earnings
per share and similar criteria. A control device used by shareholders to tie management to the self-interest of
shareholders.

Perpetual warrants

Warrants that have no expiration date.

Perpetuity

A constant stream of identical cash flows without end, such as a British consol.

Perquisites

personal benefits, including direct benefits, such as the use of a firm car or expense account for
personal business, and indirect benefits, such as up-to-date office décor.

Personal tax view (of capital structure)

The argument that the difference in personal tax rates between
income from debt and income from equity eliminates the disadvantage from the double taxation (corporate
and personal) of income from equity.

Personal trust

An interest in an asset held by a trustee for the benefit of another person.

Preferred equity redemption stock (PERC)

Preferred stock that converts automatically into equity at a
stated date. A limit is placed on the value of the shares the investor receives.

Preferred shares

Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings. And more
importantly: preferred shareholders get paid before common shareholders. See: preferred stock.

Price/earnings ratio (PE ratio)

Shows the "multiple" of earnings at which a stock sells. Determined by dividing current
stock price by current earnings per share (adjusted for stock splits). earnings per share for the P/E ratio is
determined by dividing earnings for past 12 months by the number of common shares outstanding. Higher
"multiple" means investors have higher expectations for future growth, and have bid up the stock's price.

Price persistence

Related: Relative strength

Property rights

Rights of individuals and companies to own and utilize property as they see fit and to receive
the stream of income that their property generates.

Retained earnings

Accounting earnings that are retained by the firm for reinvestment in its operations;
earnings that are not paid out as dividends.

Separation property

The property that portfolio choice can be separated into two independent tasks: 1)
determination of the optimal risky portfolio, which is a purely technical problem, and 2) the personal choice
of the best mix of the risky portfolio and the risk-free asset.

Set of contracts perspective

View of corporation as a set of contracting relationships, among individuals
who have conflicting objectives, such as shareholders or managers. The corporation is a legal contrivance that
serves as the nexus for the contracting relationships.

Share repurchase

Program by which a corporation buys back its own shares in the open market. It is usually
done when shares are undervalued. Since it reduces the number of shares outstanding and thus increases
earnings per share, it tends to elevate the market value of the remaining shares held by stockholders.

Shareholders' equity

This is a company's total assets minus total liabilities. A company's net worth is the
same thing.

Shareholders' letter

A section of an annual report where one can find jargon-free discussions by
management of successful and failed strategies which provides guidance for the probing of the rest of the
report.

Shares

Certificates or book entries representing ownership in a corporation or similar entity

Short-run operating activities

Events and decisions concerning the short-term finance of a firm, such as
how much inventory to order and whether to offer cash terms or credit terms to customers.

Subperiod return

The return of a portfolio over a shorter period of time than the evaluation period.

Supermajority

Provision in a company's charter requiring a majority of, say, 80% of shareholders to approve
certain changes, such as a merger.

T-period holding-period return

The percentage return over the T-year period an investment lasts.

Trading paper

CDs purchased by accounts that are likely to resell them. The term is commonly used in the Euromarket.

Underperform

When a security is expected to appreciate at a slower rate than the overall market.

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