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Short, original explanations of the ratios, accounts, and chart terms used across Stocklytics. Each page has the formula, a live example from the site's own quotes, and a few questions people actually ask.
Valuation
P/E RatioThe price-to-earnings ratio compares a stock's price with the profit the company has already earned.Forward P/EForward P/E prices the stock against earnings analysts expect, not earnings already reported.PEG RatioPEG adjusts the P/E ratio for how fast earnings are expected to grow.EV/EBITDAEV/EBITDA compares the whole firm's value with cash earnings before capital structure and non-cash charges.EV/SalesEV/Sales prices the whole firm against revenue when earnings are thin or negative.Price to BookPrice to book compares the market price with the accounting value of shareholders' equity.Price to SalesPrice to sales compares equity value with revenue, without adjusting for debt.Price to Free Cash FlowPrice to free cash flow prices the equity against cash left after the spending needed to keep the business running.Earnings YieldEarnings yield flips the P/E ratio so profit is expressed as a percentage of the price you pay.Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)A discounted cash flow values a business as the present value of the cash it is expected to produce.WACCWeighted average cost of capital is the blended return lenders and shareholders require.Analyst ForecastAn analyst forecast is a published estimate of future earnings or a price target from a sell-side analyst.
Cash flow
Free Cash FlowFree cash flow is the cash a business generates after the spending required to maintain and grow its asset base.Free Cash Flow YieldFree cash flow yield is the cash a business produces expressed as a percentage of its market cap.
Dividends
Dividend YieldDividend yield is the cash income a share pays over a year, divided by the price you pay.Payout RatioThe payout ratio is the share of profit, or of free cash flow, that is paid out as dividends.Dividend GrowthDividend growth is the pace at which a company raises the cash it pays shareholders.Ex-Dividend DateThe ex-dividend date is the first day a stock trades without the right to the next declared dividend.Dividend AristocratDividend aristocrats are companies with a long, unbroken streak of annual dividend increases.Yield on CostYield on cost measures today's dividend against the price you actually paid, not today's market price.
Profitability
Earnings Per Share (EPS)EPS is the profit attributed to each share, the denominator's partner in the P/E ratio.RevenueRevenue is the top line: what customers paid the company during the period.EBITDAEBITDA is operating profit with depreciation and amortization added back, a bridge toward cash earnings.Gross MarginGross margin is the share of revenue left after the direct cost of producing what was sold.Operating MarginOperating margin is the share of revenue left after the costs of running the business, before interest and tax.Net MarginNet margin is the share of revenue that remains as profit after every cost, including interest and tax.Return on Equity (ROE)ROE measures how much profit the company generates for each dollar of shareholder equity.Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)ROIC measures the return the business earns on all the capital invested in it, debt and equity together.Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)ROCE is the return earned on the capital employed in the business, a close relative of ROIC.Return on Assets (ROA)ROA measures profit relative to everything the company owns, regardless of how it was financed.
Balance sheet
Debt to EquityDebt to equity measures how much of the financing comes from lenders relative to owners.Current RatioThe current ratio checks whether short-term assets cover short-term obligations.Interest CoverageInterest coverage shows how many times operating profit covers the interest bill.
Size
Market CapMarket capitalization is the market's price for the entire equity of the company.Enterprise ValueEnterprise value is the price of the whole firm, equity and net debt together.Shares OutstandingShares outstanding is the count of shares that divide company-level numbers into per-share numbers.Blue ChipA blue chip is a large, established company with a history of earning money through more than one cycle.Stock SplitA stock split increases the number of shares and cuts the price per share so the company's value stays the same.Share BuybackA buyback is a company purchasing its own shares, which retires equity and lifts per-share figures.
Risk
BetaBeta measures how much a stock has tended to move when the market moves.VolatilityVolatility is how widely a price has swung, regardless of whether those swings matched the market.DrawdownA drawdown is the decline from a previous peak to a later trough, expressed as a percentage.52-Week RangeThe 52-week range is the highest and lowest traded price over the past year, and where the current price sits inside it.Sharpe RatioThe Sharpe ratio measures how much excess return you earned per unit of volatility.
Technicals
RSI (Relative Strength Index)RSI is a momentum oscillator that scores recent gains against recent losses on a 0–100 scale.MACDMACD is the gap between a fast and a slow moving average, used to spot changes in momentum.Moving AveragesA moving average is the average closing price over a chosen window, a smoothed line through the noise.Golden CrossA golden cross is a widely watched signal that the intermediate trend has risen through the long-term trend.Death CrossA death cross is the bearish twin of the golden cross, a lagging break in the long moving-average trend.
Funds
ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund)An ETF is a fund that trades on an exchange like a stock and usually holds a basket of securities.Index FundAn index fund tracks a defined market index instead of trying to beat it.Expense RatioThe expense ratio is the annual fee a fund charges, taken from assets, expressed as a percentage.
Accounts
ISA (Individual Savings Account)An ISA is a UK account that shelters savings and investments from UK tax, up to an annual allowance.SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension)A SIPP is a UK pension you control, with tax relief on the way in and pension tax rules on the way out.
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Questions
Are these definitions from a textbook?
No. They are original Stocklytics explanations written for the ratios and accounts the site already shows on stock pages.
Do the examples use live prices?
Yes. Each term page computes its example from the current US universe quote when that quote is loaded.