(Net Income - Preferred Dividends) / Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding
EPS is profit sliced across every share outstanding.
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What it is
Earnings per share takes the profit a company reports and splits it across all its common shares. It tells you the slice of profit that belongs to one share. "Basic" EPS uses the actual share count; a related figure, diluted EPS, also counts shares that could be created from options and convertibles.
Why it matters
EPS is the building block of the P/E ratio and the most-watched number when a company reports results. A pitfall is that EPS can rise simply because the company bought back shares, not because the business earned more, so always check whether profit itself grew.
How it's calculated
Take net income, subtract any preferred dividends, then divide by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period.
How Quintarthai uses it
EPS appears in the Summary Key-metrics grid (via P/E) and the 5-year financial highlights, with per-share figures broken out on the Ratios tab. Open a company page in the app to see it.
Cross-border note. US filers report EPS under US GAAP and Canadian filers under IFRS, so one-time items can be classified differently; Quintarthai pulls US figures from SEC EDGAR and Canadian figures from SEDAR+.
FAQ
What's the difference between basic and diluted EPS?
Basic EPS uses only the shares actually outstanding, while diluted EPS also includes shares that could be issued from options, warrants, and convertibles, which lowers the figure.
Why does EPS use a weighted-average share count?
Share counts change during a year as companies issue or buy back stock, so a weighted average reflects how many shares existed across the period rather than just the year-end snapshot.
Check your understanding
A company's net income was flat year-over-year, yet its EPS rose noticeably. What is the most likely explanation?
With net income flat, a smaller share count (from buybacks) is the classic reason EPS can rise without the business actually earning more.