Earnings per share (EPS) is the monetary value of

earnings Earnings are the net benefits of a corporation's operation. Earnings is also the amount on which corporate tax is due. For an analysis of specific aspects of corporate operations several more specific terms are used as EBIT (earnings before intere ...

per outstanding share of

common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Comm ...

for a company. It is a key measure of corporate profitability and is commonly used to price stocks. In the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requires EPS information for the four major categories of the

income statement An income statement or profit and loss accountProfessional English in Use - Finance, Cambridge University Press, p. 10 (also referred to as a ''profit and loss statement'' (P&L), ''statement of profit or loss'', ''revenue statement'', ''stateme ...

: continuing operations, discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and net income.

Calculating

Preferred stock Preferred stock (also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds) is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt inst ...

rights have precedence over common stock. Therefore, dividends on preferred shares are subtracted before calculating the EPS. When preferred shares are cumulative, annual dividends are deducted whether or not they have been declared. Dividends in

arrears Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...

are not relevant when calculating EPS. ;Basic formula :Earnings per share = ;Net income formula :Earnings per share = ;Continuing operations formula :Earnings per share =

Diluted earnings per share

''Diluted earnings per share'' (diluted EPS) is a company's earnings per share calculated using fully diluted

shares outstanding Shares outstanding are all the shares of a corporation that have been authorized, issued and purchased by investors and are held by them. They are distinguished from treasury shares, which are shares held by the corporation itself, thus represent ...

(i.e. including the impact of stock option grants and convertible bonds). Diluted EPS indicates a "worst case" scenario, one that reflects the issuance of stock for all outstanding options, warrants and convertible securities that would reduce earnings per share.

Calculations

Calculations of diluted EPS vary. Morningstar reports diluted EPS "Earnings/Share $", which is net income minus preferred stock dividends divided by the

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of common stock shares outstanding over the past year; this is adjusted for dilutive shares. Some data sources may simplify this calculation by using the number of shares outstanding at the end of a reporting period. The methods of simplifying EPS calculations and eliminating inappropriate assumptions include replacing primary EPS with basic EPS, eliminating the treasury stock method of accounting from fully diluted EPS, eliminating the three-percent test for dual presentation, and providing information on individual dilative securities.

U.S. GAAP

Calculations of diluted EPS under

U.S. GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP or U.S. GAAP, pronounced like "gap") is the accounting standard adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is the default accounting standard used by companies based in the Uni ...

are described under Statement No. 128 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FAS No. 128). The objective of diluted EPS is to measure the performance of a company over the reporting period taking into account the dilutive effect of potential common stock that could be issued by the company. To compute diluted EPS, both the denominator (outstanding shares) and the numerator (earnings) may need to be adjusted. ''Diluted shares: '' To calculate the total number of shares used in the calculation, FASB prescribes using the treasury method to calculate the dilutive effect of any instruments that could result in the issuance of shares, including: * Stock options * Warrants * Convertible preferred stock * Convertible bonds * Share-based payment arrangements * Written put options * Contingently issuable shares ''Earnings: '' The numerator used in calculating diluted EPS is adjusted to take into account the impact that the conversion of any securities would have on earnings. For example, interest would be added back to earnings to reflect the conversion of any outstanding convertible bonds, preferred dividends would be added back to reflect the conversion of convertible preferred stock, and any impact of these changes on other financial items, such as royalties and taxes, would also be adjusted.

International financial reporting standards

Under

International Financial Reporting Standards International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's f ...

, diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the earnings and number of shares for the effects of dilutive options and other dilutive potential

. Dilutive potential common stock includes: *

convertible debt In finance, a convertible bond or convertible note or convertible debt (or a convertible debenture if it has a maturity of greater than 10 years) is a type of bond that the holder can convert into a specified number of shares of common stock in ...

* convertible

preferred stock Preferred stock (also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds) is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt inst ...

* share warrants * share options * share rights *

Employee stock purchase plan In the United States, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) is a means by which employees of a corporation can purchase the corporation's capital stock, often at a discount. Employees contribute to the plan through payroll deductions, which b ...

s * contractual rights to purchase shares * contingent issuance contracts or agreement

References

External links

European banks’ earnings announcements
video
Earnings Per Share Screener
figures from official financial statements

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