What is a Stock Dividend? A stock dividend, a method used by companies to distribute wealth to shareholders, is a dividend payment made in the form of shares rather than cash. Stock dividends are primarily issued in lieu of cash dividends when the company is low on liquid cash on hand. The board of directors…
What is a Checking Account? A checking account is a type of deposit account that individuals open at financial institutions for the purpose of withdrawing and depositing money. Also known as a transactional or demand account, a checking account is very liquid. To put it simply, it provides users a quick way of accessing their…
What is the Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR)? The modified internal rate of return (commonly denoted as MIRR) is a financial measure that helps to determine the attractiveness of an investment and that can be used to compare different investments. Essentially, the modified internal rate of return is a modification of the internal rate…
What is Life Cycle Cost Analysis? Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is an approach used to assess the total cost of owning a facility or running a project. LCCA considers all the costs associated with obtaining, owning, and disposing of an investment. Life cycle cost analysis is especially useful where a project comes with multiple…
What is a Savings Account? A savings account is a typical account at a bank or a credit union that allows an individual to deposit, secure, or withdraw money when the need arises. A savings account usually pays some interest on deposits, although the rate is quite low. As of 2019, an average account pays…
What is a Security? A security is a financial instrument, typically any financial asset that can be traded. The nature of what can and can’t be called a security generally depends on the jurisdiction in which the assets are being traded. In the United States, the term broadly covers all traded financial assets and breaks…
What is Risk? In finance, risk is the probability that actual results will differ from expected results. In the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), risk is defined as the volatility of returns. The concept of “risk and return” is that riskier assets should have higher expected returns to compensate investors for the higher volatility and…
What is an Earnings Call? An earnings call is a conference call (typically held in the form of a teleconference or a webcast) during which the management of a public company announces and discusses the financial results of a company for a quarter or a year. Generally, the earnings call is accompanied by an official…
What are Flotation Costs? Flotation costs are the costs that are incurred by a company when issuing new securities. The costs can be various expenses including, but not limited to, underwriting, legal, registration, and audit fees. Flotation expenses are expressed as a percentage of the issue price. After the flotation costs are determined by a…
What is the Yield to Maturity (YTM)? Yield to Maturity (YTM) – otherwise referred to as redemption or book yield – is the speculative rate of return or interest rate of a fixed-rate security, such as a bond. The YTM is based on the belief or understanding that an investor purchases the security at the…
