What is Earnings Season? Earnings season is the time during which publicly traded companies announce their financial results in the market. The time occurs at the end of every quarter, i.e., four times a year for U.S. companies. Companies in other regions have different reporting periods, such as Europe, where companies report semi-annually. Timing of…
What is Equity Risk Premium? Equity Risk Premium is the difference between returns on equity/individual stock and the risk-free rate of return. The risk-free rate of return can be benchmarked to longer-term government bonds, assuming zero default risk by the government. It is the excess return a stock pays to the holder over and above…
What is Weighted Average Shares Outstanding? Weighted average shares outstanding refers to the number of shares of a company calculated after adjusting for changes in the share capital over a reporting period. The number of shares of a company outstanding is not constant and may change at various times throughout the year, due to a share…
The Dividend vs Share Buyback Debate Shareholders invest in publicly traded companies for capital appreciation and income. There are two main ways in which a company returns profits to its shareholders – Cash Dividends and Share Buybacks. The reasons that drive the strategic decision on dividend vs share buyback differ from company to company and…
What is a Letter of Guarantee? A Letter of Guarantee refers to a written commitment granted by a bank on the request of a client who has engaged in a sale agreement to purchase goods from a supplier, providing assurance that the customer will fulfill the obligations of the contract entered into with the supplier….
What is LTM Revenue? LTM stands for “Last Twelve Months” and is similar in meaning to TTM, or “Trailing Twelve Months.” LTM Revenue is a popular term used in the world of finance as a measurement of a company’s financial health. It reports or calculates the revenue figures for the “past 12 months.” LTM or…
What is CVP Analysis? Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis (CVP analysis), also commonly referred to as Break-Even Analysis, is a way for companies to determine how changes in costs (both variable and fixed) and sales volume affect a company’s profit. With this information, companies can better understand overall performance by looking at how many units must be sold…
How to Calculate Variance? The variance formula is used to calculate the difference between a forecast and the actual result. The variance can be expressed as a percentage or an integer (dollar value or the number of units). Variance analysis and the variance formula play an important role in corporate financial planning and analysis (FP&A)…
What are Monetary Assets? Monetary assets are assets that carry a fixed value in terms of currency units (e.g., dollars, euros, yen). They are stated as a fixed value in dollar terms even when macroeconomic factors, such as inflation, decrease the purchasing power of the currency. Dissecting the Term “Monetary Assets” Monetary assets are assets…
What is a Project Budget? The Project Budget is a tool used by project managers to estimate the total cost of a project. A project budget template includes a detailed estimate of all costs that are likely to be incurred before the project is completed. Large commercial projects can have project budgets that are several…
