Financial Lexicon
Explanations of important financial terms and metrics related to quarterly earnings, company reports and stock market analysis.
Analyse & Kontext
- Analyst Ratings: What Buy, Hold & Sell Really MeanBuy, hold, or sell?
- Base Effect: Why Growth Rates Can DeceiveUp 50 percent — or just a weak prior year?
- Constant Currency: What FX-Adjusted Growth MeansStrong euro, weak dollar: currencies distort the revenues of global companies.
- Earnings Surprise: Definition & How It Is CalculatedWhen earnings deviate from consensus, that's an earnings surprise.
- Free Cash Flow (FCF) Definition: More important than Net Income?Cash is King!
- Guidance Definition: What does Outlook mean in Stocks?Guidance often moves stock prices more than current numbers.
- Implied Move: The Expected Swing Around EarningsThe options market reveals how much a stock is expected to move after earnings.
- Market Consensus: What implies Beat vs. Miss?Why do stocks fall despite record profits?
- One-Off Items & Special Effects: Understanding Adjusted Figures'Adjusted for one-offs' appears in almost every report.
- Organic Growth: Definition & How It Differs from M&AIs the business growing on its own or only via acquisitions?
- Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift (PEAD) ExplainedAfter strong results, stocks often keep climbing for weeks.
- Price Target: How Analysts Calculate ItPrice target $250 — but where does the number come from?
- Safe Harbor Statement: The Earnings Call DisclaimerEvery earnings call starts with it: what the safe harbor statement means legally, what it protects…
- Sell-Side vs. Buy-Side: The Difference Between AnalystsTwo worlds of financial research: why sell-side research is public, buy-side views stay private, and whose estimates form the consensus.
- Whisper Number Definition: The Unofficial Earnings ExpectationSometimes a beat isn't enough: the whisper number is the street's unofficial expectation.
- YoY vs. QoQ Meaning: Comparing Quarterly Earnings CorrectlyYear-over-Year (YoY) or Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ)?
Corporate Events
- Ad-hoc Announcement Definition: Mandatory Disclosure RequirementsPublishing price-sensitive facts immediately.
- Analyst Conference: Process & Why It MattersAfter the numbers, CEO and CFO face analyst questions.
- Annual General Meeting (AGM): Process & Shareholder RightsOnce a year, shareholders have their say.
- Annual Report: Structure & ContentsThe most important document of the year: how an annual report is structured, where the revealing…
- Annual Results Press Conference: How It WorksWhen full-year results are due, the executive board briefs the press.
- Capital Increase: Subscription Rights & DilutionFresh money from shareholders: how a capital increase works, what subscription rights are worth,…
- Capital Markets Day (CMD): Definition & MeaningOnce a year, management opens the books on strategy.
- DAX Index Review: How Stocks Enter and Exit the IndexDeutsche Börse regularly reviews who belongs in DAX, MDAX & SDAX.
- Directors' Dealings: When Insiders Buy Their Own StockWhen executives buy their own shares, professionals pay attention.
- Earnings Call Process: What happens in the conference?The mandatory event after the numbers.
- Earnings Season: When It Starts & Why It MattersFour times a year, nearly all listed companies report quarterly earnings.
- Ex-Dividend Date: Definition & Price Markdown ExplainedBuy on the ex-date and you miss the dividend.
- Financial Calendar: All Key Dates of Listed CompaniesEarnings dates and AGM at a glance: what a financial calendar contains, why companies must maintain…
- Guidance Raise: When Companies Lift Their OutlookThe opposite of a profit warning: why raised guidance is often disclosed ad hoc, how markets react,…
- Half-Year Financial Report: Requirements & ContentsBetween the quarters comes the big H1 report.
- Pre-Announcement: Preliminary Figures Ahead of ScheduleSometimes the numbers come early.
- Preliminary vs. Audited Figures: The DifferencePreliminary figures arrive first, the audited financial statements months later.
- Profit Warning Definition: When Companies Cut GuidanceA profit warning often hits stocks by double digits.
- Quarterly Statement vs. Quarterly Report: The DifferenceNot every company publishes a full quarterly report.
- Quiet Period Definition: The Silence Before EarningsRadio silence before the numbers: why companies stop commenting on guidance during the quiet…
- Share Buyback Meaning & Impact on EPSWhy do companies buy back their own shares?
- Special Dividend: Definition & Notable ExamplesSometimes there's more than the regular payout.
- Spin-off: Definition & What It Means for ShareholdersWhen a group lists a division separately: how a spin-off works, what shareholders receive…
- Stock Split Definition: Process & Effect on the Share PriceOne share becomes ten: why companies split their stock, what happens to price and market cap, and what a reverse split signals.
- Triple Witching Day: Definition & DatesFour times a year, futures and options expire simultaneously.
Fundamentale Kennzahlen
- Capex & Opex: Investments vs. Operating Costs ExplainedBillions for chips and data centers: what separates capex from opex, where both appear in the report, and why the capex ratio matters.
- Earnings Explained: What Are Earnings in Finance?Earnings means a company's profit, the number every quarterly report is built around.
- EBIT vs. EBITDA Difference: Definition & Formula ExplainedWhich is better: EBIT or EBITDA?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share) Definition: Understanding Profit per ShareEPS moves stock prices.
- Fiscal Year vs. Calendar Year: Understanding FY and Q1-Q4Why does Apple's fiscal year end in September?
- Gross Margin Definition: Formula & InterpretationThe first margin in the income statement: how gross margin is calculated, what it reveals about…
- IFRS vs. US GAAP: Accounting Standards ComparedEurope reports under IFRS, the US under US GAAP.
- Impairment: Write-Downs & Goodwill Charges ExplainedBillions written off without cash leaving: what triggers an impairment, why goodwill charges crush…
- Net Debt: Definition & CalculationDebt minus cash: how net debt is calculated, what the net debt/EBITDA leverage ratio tells you, and when it becomes critical.
- Non-GAAP vs. GAAP EPS: Which Profit Counts?Two profits, one company: why non-GAAP EPS is almost always higher, what gets excluded, and which number the market actually watches.
- Restatement: When Companies Must Correct Their FinancialsYesterday's numbers no longer hold: what a restatement means, which errors can be behind it, and why it triggers massive distrust.
- Revenue vs. Profit: Top-Line and Bottom-Line DifferenceRevenue is not profit!
- Segment Reporting: How to Take a Conglomerate ApartWhere does the group really make its money?
Spezifische Metriken
- ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue): The Key SaaS MetricRecurring revenue is predictable and valuable: what ARR and MRR mean, how they are calculated, and why software stocks are judged by them.
- Book-to-Bill Ratio: Key Metric for Semi & IndustryA leading indicator for tech stocks.
- CAGR Formula & Calculation: Compound Annual Growth Rate ExplainedThe Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) smooths growth curves.
- Operating Margin Definition & CalculationHow profitable is the core business?
- Order Intake & Order Backlog: Leading Indicators for IndustrialsToday's orders are tomorrow's revenue: why order intake and backlog often matter more than current sales for industrial stocks.
- Run Rate: Definition & How the Extrapolation WorksOne strong quarter times four?
- Same Store Sales Definition: Comparable Store Sales ExplainedWhy Same Store Sales are more important than total revenue for retailers.
Stammdaten & Profile
- CEO Definition & Responsibilities: What does the Chief do?What does CEO stand for?
- CFO Definition & Responsibilities: The Finance Chief ExplainedOn earnings day, the CFO is the key voice.
- CIK Number (SEC): Search & Meaning ExplainedThe Central Index Key (CIK) is a US company's fingerprint.
- Dividend & Yield: Definition and ExplanationProfit sharing for shareholders.
- Extended Hours Trading: Pre-Market & After-Hours ExplainedWhat are extended hours?
- Form 10-K: The SEC Annual Report ExplainedThe most detailed document a US company produces: what's in the 10-K, how it differs from the…
- Form 10-Q: The SEC Quarterly Report ExplainedUS companies must file a 10-Q three times a year.
- Form 8-K: The SEC's Current Report ExplainedUS companies must report major events within four business days.
- Investor Relations (IR): Role & Why It Matters for InvestorsThe interface between a company and the capital markets: what investor relations does and why the…
- IPO Date: Meaning of Initial Public OfferingInitial Public Offering (IPO) is the first step onto the exchange.
- ISIN: Definition & Structure of the Securities NumberWhat is an ISIN?
- LEI (Legal Entity Identifier): Definition & Structure20 characters identify every company worldwide: what the LEI is used for, how it is structured, and how it relates to ISIN and WKN.
- Market Cap Definition & Calculation: Company ValuationIs the company expensive?
- NASDAQ: America's Tech Exchange ExplainedHome of Apple, Nvidia & Microsoft: how the NASDAQ came about, what sets it apart from the NYSE, and what NASDAQ-100 and Composite mean.
- NYSE (New York Stock Exchange): The Wall StreetThe largest exchange in the world.
- Sector & Industry: How Stocks Are Classified (GICS)What is a stock market sector?
- Stock Exchange: How the Stock Market WorksMarketplace for shares.
- Stock Price: How is the share price determined?Why do prices fluctuate every second?
- Ticker Symbol: Definition & Meaning on the Stock MarketWhat is a ticker symbol?
- WKN: The German Securities Identification NumberSix characters for every security: how the German WKN is structured, how it differs from ISIN and ticker, and why it still exists.
- Xetra: Germany's Main Trading Venue ExplainedMost German equity trading runs through Xetra.