MRK

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

Thin margins leave little room for a bad year — typical of retail and airlines.

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

The core business loses money before financing even enters the picture.

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.

Below about 10% the business is not doing much with the money invested in it.

Profit generated per unit of everything the company owns.

The assets are working hard.

Borrowings measured against shareholder capital.

Normal for most established companies.

Short-term assets against short-term obligations.

Enough to cover near-term bills.

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.

A healthy expansion rate.

The share of earnings paid out as dividends.

The dividend exceeds profit, so it is being funded from cash or debt — rarely sustainable.

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.

Close to a coin flip, which is the norm — returns come from the size of moves, not their count.

You pay 123.22 for every 1 unit of annual earnings.

Above 40 the price assumes growth that then has to actually arrive.

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.

The price assumes today's revenue will convert into much more profit later.

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

A conventional range.

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.

Above 70 conventionally reads as overbought.

Trend strength, regardless of direction.

Above 25 is conventionally read as a genuine trend in force.

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.

Analysts' average target is under the current price.