IBM

Of every 100 units of revenue, this much survives as profit.

A comfortable buffer between revenue and costs.

Profit from operations, before interest and tax, per 100 of revenue.

The operations themselves are comfortably profitable.

What is left of revenue after only the direct cost of the product.

Little marginal cost per sale, which is what lets software and pharma fund heavy R&D.

Profit generated per unit of shareholder capital.

Rare when sustained — check whether debt is flattering it, since borrowing shrinks the equity denominator.

Profit generated per unit of everything the company owns.

The assets are working hard.

Borrowings measured against shareholder capital.

Debt magnifies both good years and bad, and raises the stakes when rates rise.

Short-term assets against short-term obligations.

Below 1 the company owes more within a year than it holds — workable if customers pay up front, risky otherwise.

Short-term assets excluding inventory, against short-term debts.

Near-term obligations are roughly covered without selling inventory.

Change in revenue against the same period last year.

Growing slower than a typical economy — the business is mature or under pressure.

Change in earnings against the same period last year.

Profit is declining even if revenue is not.

The share of earnings paid out as dividends.

Most of the profit goes out of the door, leaving less to reinvest.

Return earned per unit of risk taken.

Below 1 is the common case; return did not strongly outpace the volatility.

The share of trading days that closed higher.

More up days than most shares manage.

You pay 20.65 for every 1 unit of annual earnings.

Roughly the long-run market average band.

Price against next year's *forecast* earnings.

A conventional range.

P/E divided by the growth rate — it asks whether the price is justified by the growth.

Above 2 you pay more per unit of growth than the convention treats as reasonable.

Price against the accounting value of the company's net assets.

Normal for asset-light businesses, where the value sits in brands and software the balance sheet never records.

Price against revenue — usable when a company has no profit yet.

A common range for a profitable, growing business.

Whole-company value, debt included, against cash earnings.

Expensive even before interest, tax and depreciation are considered.

Annual dividend as a percentage of the share price.

A substantial part of the total return arrives as income.

A 0–100 momentum gauge over the last 14 sessions.

The middle band, where most trading days sit.

Trend strength, regardless of direction.

Below about 20 the price is ranging rather than trending.

How far the price typically swings over a year.

A typical range for an individual share.

How much the price moves relative to the wider market.

Tends to move less than the index, in both directions.

The worst peak-to-trough fall in the period measured.

A serious decline, though not unusual over a multi-year window.

How far the mean analyst target sits above today's price.

Little headroom to the consensus target.