Per-Share & Shareholder Return Metrics
These metrics translate company-wide figures into what an individual shareholder actually receives or is entitled to, and how much of the company's profit is being returned rather than reinvested.
Earnings Per Share, EPS
Net income ÷ Shares outstanding (excluding treasury shares)
The portion of profit attributable to a single share.
Strengths: Makes it easy to compare against the share price (via PER) regardless of company size.
Watch out for: Share buybacks reduce the share count, which raises EPS even if total profit hasn't changed.
Combine with: PER and EPS growth rate.
Book Value Per Share, BPS
Shareholders' equity ÷ Shares outstanding
The theoretical amount each share would be entitled to if the company were liquidated today.
Strengths: A useful reference point for a stock's theoretical floor (around 1.0x PBR).
Watch out for: Based on book (accounting) values, which may not reflect real market value — unrealized gains or losses on assets aren't always captured.
Combine with: PBR and ROE.
Dividend Per Share, DPS
Total annual dividends paid ÷ Shares outstanding
The actual cash dividend amount received per share held.
Strengths: Shows real income in concrete currency terms.
Watch out for: A single year's figure matters less than the track record — has it been raised consistently, cut, or held flat?
Combine with: Dividend yield and payout ratio.
Payout Ratio
Total annual dividends ÷ Net income × 100 (or DPS ÷ EPS × 100)
Shows what share of profit is being returned to shareholders as dividends.
Strengths: Helps judge how sustainable the dividend is, and how shareholder-return-oriented management is.
Watch out for: A payout ratio above 100% means the company is paying out more than it earned — a sign the dividend may not be sustainable.
Combine with: Free cash flow (to check the dividend is backed by real cash, not just accounting profit) and total payout ratio.
Total Payout Ratio
(Total dividends + Total share buybacks) ÷ Net income × 100
Captures the full picture of shareholder returns, including buybacks alongside dividends.
Strengths: Better reflects the modern trend of companies favoring buybacks in addition to (or instead of) dividends.
Watch out for: Buyback spending tends to fluctuate a lot year to year depending on market conditions and share price levels.
Combine with: Payout ratio and buyback ratio.
Buyback Ratio
Buyback spending ÷ Market capitalization × 100 (or shares repurchased ÷ shares outstanding)
Shows the scale of a share buyback program relative to the size of the company.
Strengths: Helps gauge both the EPS-boosting effect and the strength of management's commitment to shareholder returns.
Watch out for: Buying back stock at an expensive valuation can actually destroy shareholder value rather than create it.
Combine with: PER/PBR levels (buybacks executed when the stock is cheap are more clearly value-accretive).