return on equity

Definition

How much profit a company generates per dollar of shareholder investment, or as executives call it, the only number that matters. Because shareholders' yachts don't buy themselves.

Example Usage

The board demanded improvements to return on equity, which led to layoffs and a boost in the stock price.

Source: Financial analysis and corporate finance

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Net Worth

Everything you own minus everything you owe, a number that for most millennials can be expressed as a negative sign followed by their student loan balance. Forbes publishes a list of people with the highest net worth annually, presumably just to ruin everyone's day.

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debt-to-equity ratio

A leverage metric comparing total liabilities to shareholder equity, revealing whether a company is conservatively financed or one recession away from bankruptcy. Financial analysts' favorite way to judge how recklessly a company borrows.

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accounts receivable

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aged receivables

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vesting schedule

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negative assurance

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