Earnings per Share (EPS) is a financial term that helps you figure out how much profit a company makes for each of its shares. Think of it like this: if a company makes a profit, how much of that profit goes to each person holding a share of their stock? EPS helps you understand that.
It’s an important thing to know for anyone thinking about investing in a company because when a company’s EPS goes up, its stock price often goes up too. It’s a good sign that the company is doing well. But, examining the company’s Financial Reports is also crucial when you’re thinking about investing.
How Do You Calculate EPS?
Calculating EPS is not too complicated. You take the company’s net income (the money they make after taking out any special dividends) and divide it by the number of common shares available.
Here’s the formula:
EPS = (Net Income – Special Dividends) / Number of Common Shares
The result tells you how much a company earns for each share of its stock. This helps you compare different companies, even if they have different numbers of shares, stock prices, or profits.
Sometimes, when calculating EPS, you can use the average number of shares over a period (like a year) in the denominator to get a broader picture. Other times, you might use the number of shares at the end of the period because it’s the most recent and reflects where the company is headed.
Why Does EPS Matter?
EPS is not just a random number. It plays a big role in finding out the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio). This ratio tells you how much you’re paying for each dollar the company earns.
Here’s how it works: you divide the stock price by EPS, and that gives you the P/E ratio.
With EPS and the P/E ratio, you can easily compare different companies. You can see how much profit each share represents and how much you’re willing to pay for it.
How Does EPS Affect Stock Prices?
Over time, a company’s stock price goes up and down depending on what’s expected for its EPS. If a company can grow its EPS quickly, its stock price usually goes up. But if the EPS is falling, the stock usually follows suit.
When EPS goes up, people are willing to pay more for the company’s shares because it means the company is doing well. On the flip side, when EPS falls, the stock price usually drops, and people wonder if the company can turn things around.
However, it’s not just about EPS; what analysts expect also matters. Even if a company reports good EPS growth, if it falls short of what analysts predicted, the stock price might not move much or even drop for a while.
One important thing to remember is that there’s no one-size-fits-all for what’s considered a “good” EPS. It’s just a way to see how much profit each share represents. The P/E ratio helps you decide if you’re paying a lot or a little for that profit.
For instance, a young tech startup may have a lower EPS than a well-established healthcare company. But people might be willing to pay more for the tech company’s shares because they expect it to grow faster.
What Are the Limitations of EPS?
EPS isn’t the whole story about a company. It gives you a snapshot of profit at a specific time, usually a quarter or a year. To understand if a company’s profits are going up or down, you need to look at EPS over several years or check what analysts predict for the future.
EPS also doesn’t show you everything about a company’s cash flow. It’s based on net income, which includes non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization. So, a company could be generating more cash than what EPS suggests.
Plus, companies can change their EPS by messing with the number of shares, like issuing more shares, doing stock splits, or buying back shares. Stock buybacks can be tricky because while they may increase EPS by reducing the number of shares, they could also reduce the company’s cash reserves, affecting its future investments.
What’s Diluted EPS?
Diluted EPS takes into account things that could dilute, or reduce, the company’s earnings per share. This includes convertible securities and employee stock options.
Calculating diluted EPS is a bit more complex, but it gives you a broader idea of EPS if all those convertible securities were converted into shares.
What’s Adjusted EPS?
Sometimes, you’ll see a term called “adjusted EPS” in financial statements. It’s like a modified version of EPS. Adjusted EPS changes the profit part of the EPS calculation to remove one-time gains or losses, like legal fees, acquisitions, or restructuring costs.
Companies often use adjusted EPS to show a better picture of their core performance. But be careful because if those one-time losses keep happening, you might want to take adjusted EPS with a grain of salt.
In Conclusion
So, EPS is a vital tool for understanding a company’s profitability. But remember, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. To make smart investment decisions, you should look at other financial metrics and consider the company’s overall health and future prospects.
