Corporate Finance

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83(b) Election

83(b) Election is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Accounting Rate of Return

Accounting-profit return measure used as a simple capital-budgeting screen, but weaker than discounted cash-flow metrics for major investments.

Accounts Receivable Turnover

Accounts Receivable Turnover is a receivables accounting concept used to estimate credit losses, doubtful accounts, or recoverability.

Acquirer

An acquirer is the company that gains control over another entity, known as the target, in a business combination.

Acquisition

Transaction in which one company obtains control of another business, asset group, or equity interest.

Acquisition Financing

Acquisition financing is the debt, equity, cash, seller financing, or hybrid funding used to purchase another business.

Actual Profit

Actual profit is realized profit after accounting for actual revenues, costs, and adjustments rather than forecasts or targets.

Administration Expenses

Administration expenses are overhead costs for managing and supporting a business rather than producing goods or services directly.

Affiliate

An affiliate is a related company or person whose control, ownership, or influence matters for corporate finance, securities rules, and disclosure.

All-Equity Net Present Value

All-Equity Net Present Value is a capital-budgeting metric used to evaluate project value from expected cash flows and required returns.

All-or-None (AON) Offering

An all-or-none offering requires the entire securities issue to be sold before the transaction can close.

Allotment

Allotment is the allocation of newly issued shares or securities to investors after an application, subscription, or offering.

Alteration of Share Capital

Alteration of share capital changes a company's authorized, issued, or class-based share capital under corporate law and shareholder approvals.

Alternative Budgets

Alternative Budgets is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Anti-Dilution Clause

Anti-Dilution Clause is an equity-finance provision or condition that affects shareholder ownership, dilution, or future share issuance.

Application Form

An application form, issued by a newly floated company with its prospectus, serves as a tool through which members of the public apply for shares in the company.

Assented Stock

Assented Stock is a shareholder-rights or takeover concept tied to voting power, ownership protection, or corporate control.

Assessable Capital Stocks

Assessable capital stocks are shares whose holders may be required to contribute additional capital after issuance.

Asset Purchase

An asset purchase is a business acquisition strategy where a company buys selected assets of another company, rather than acquiring its stock.

Asset Revaluation Reserve

An asset revaluation reserve records upward revaluations of assets in equity and is usually restricted from ordinary distribution.

Asset Stripping

The acquisition of a company whose shares are valued below their asset value and the subsequent sale of the company's assets for profit.

Assimilation (Finance)

Assimilation is the market absorption of a new securities issue after underwriters distribute it to investors.

Authorized Capital

Authorized capital is the maximum share capital a company is permitted to issue under its charter or governing documents.

Authorized Minimum Share Capital

Authorized minimum share capital is the statutory minimum share capital a public company must have in jurisdictions that impose the requirement.

Authorized Stock

Authorized stock is the maximum number of shares a company may issue under its charter or governing documents.

Backward Integration

Backward integration expands a company upstream by acquiring or building supplier, input, or production capabilities.

Bear Hug

A bear hug is an unsolicited acquisition proposal priced attractively enough to pressure a target board to engage.

Before-Tax Cash Flow

Before-tax cash flow measures cash generated before income taxes, often used in property, project, and business analysis.

Benefit-Cost Ratio

Benefit-Cost Ratio is an investment-appraisal tool used to compare project economics, recovery time, or return thresholds.

Best-Efforts Offering

A best-efforts offering requires underwriters to try to sell securities but does not guarantee the issuer will sell the full amount.

Black Knight

A black knight is an unwelcome bidder pursuing a hostile or opposed takeover of a target company.

Blended Value

An explanation of the blended value concept, which represents the average value of tendered stock and residual stock in a self-tender offer.

Bonus Shares

Bonus Shares is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Book Building

Book building is the underwriter-led process of collecting investor demand to price and allocate a securities offering.

Bookrunner

A bookrunner is the lead bank responsible for managing investor demand, pricing, allocation, and execution in a securities offering.

Bootstrap Acquisition

Bootstrap Acquisition refers to any of several forms of buyout where a buyer finances an acquisition in part with the target corporation's excess cash or liquid assets.

Borrowed Capital

Borrowed capital is financing raised through loans, bonds, credit lines, or other debt obligations that must be repaid.

Bottom-Up Budgeting

Bottom-Up Budgeting is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Bought Deal

A bought deal is an underwriting commitment where banks buy securities from an issuer before reselling them to investors.

Brownfield Investment

Investment that reuses, redevelops, leases, or acquires an existing site, facility, or asset base instead of building from scratch.

Budget

Budget is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Budget Planning

Budget Planning is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Budget Slack

Budget Slack is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Budgetary Control

The process by which financial control is exercised within an organization through the preparation and comparison of budgets for income and expenditure.

Budgeted Capacity

Budgeted Capacity is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Budgeted Revenue

Budgeted Revenue refers to the income level included in a budget representing the income that is expected to be achieved during that budget period.

Business Combination

A business combination brings separate businesses under common control through merger, acquisition, consolidation, or other transaction structures.

Bust-up Acquisition

A bust-up acquisition is a type of corporate acquisition where a raider sells some of the acquired company's assets to finance the leveraged acquisition.

Buy-In

Buy-In refers to the acquisition of more than 50% of a company's shares by external executives aiming to gain control and manage the company.

Buy-Sell Agreement

A buy-sell agreement sets how ownership interests are transferred, valued, or bought out after death, disability, departure, or other trigger events.

Called-Up Share Capital

Called-up share capital is the amount shareholders have been required to pay on subscribed or partly paid shares.

Cap Table

Cap Table is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Capacity Utilization

Capacity Utilization is a key metric that measures the extent to which an enterprise or a nation uses its installed productive capacity.

Capital Allocation

Capital allocation is the process of directing financial resources to projects, assets, acquisitions, or payouts to maximize risk-adjusted value.

Capital Budgeting

Capital budgeting tools help finance teams compare long-term projects, cash flows, risk, hurdle rates, and value creation.

Capital Cover

Capital cover compares portfolio or asset value with financed capital to assess collateral protection and funding risk.

Capital Distribution

A capital distribution returns capital to shareholders rather than paying an ordinary income dividend.

Capital Employed

Capital employed measures the operating capital invested in a business, commonly used to evaluate returns generated by assets and funding.

CapEx Budget

Capital spending plan used to prioritize long-lived asset investments, funding needs, approval limits, and project controls.

Capital Fund

A capital fund is a pool of money set aside for long-term investment, capital projects, reserves, or organizational funding needs.

Capital Gearing

Capital gearing measures the relationship between fixed-return capital and ordinary equity in a company's capital structure.

Capital Injection

A capital injection is funding added to a company, bank, project, or investment vehicle to strengthen liquidity or support growth.

Capital Investment

Long-term deployment of capital into assets, projects, capacity, or capabilities expected to create future cash flows or strategic value.

Investment Appraisal

Evaluation process for deciding whether a capital project creates value after cash-flow, risk, funding, and strategic constraints are tested.

Capital Maintenance

Capital Maintenance refers to the concept and legal requirements to ensure that a company's capital is maintained at its real value.

Capital Pool Company (CPC)

Canadian public shell company used to raise capital and complete a qualifying transaction with a private business.

Capital Project

Long-term investment project that creates, replaces, or improves productive assets and requires budget, funding, approval, and execution control.

Capital Raising

Capital raising is the process of obtaining debt, equity, or hybrid financing to fund operations, acquisitions, or growth.

Capital Rationing

Capital Rationing is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Capital Redemption Reserve

A capital redemption reserve preserves capital when a company redeems or buys back shares under capital maintenance rules.

Capital Reduction

A capital reduction lowers a company's share capital or related reserves under legal rules that protect creditors and shareholders.

Capital Requirement

A capital requirement is the amount of funding, equity, or regulatory capital needed to operate, expand, or absorb risk.

Capital Reserve

A capital reserve is an equity reserve usually created from capital transactions rather than ordinary trading profits.

Capital Structure

Capital Structure covers Capital Policy, Financial Structure, and Funding Capacity, Leverage, Debt Capitalization, and Coverage Ratios, Preferred, Senior, and Hybrid Capital, …

Capitalization Issue

Bonus or scrip issue that converts reserves into share capital and issues shares to existing holders.

Carve-Out

A carve-out separates part of a business through a sale, IPO, or standalone structure while the parent may retain ownership.

Cash Budget

Short-term cash-flow forecast used to plan liquidity, borrowing needs, covenant headroom, and operating funding gaps.

Cash Concentration

Cash Concentration is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Cash Conversion Cycle

Cash Conversion Cycle is a working-capital measure used to analyze how quickly operations turn cash into inventory, sales, and collections.

Cash Float

Cash Float is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Cash Flow Management

Cash Flow Management is the process of monitoring, analyzing, and optimizing the net amount of cash receipts minus cash expenses.

Cash Flow Statement

Cash Flow Statement and Operating Cash Flow covers Cash Inflows and Outflows, Net, Positive, and Negative Cash Flow, and Operating Cash Flow and Income Comparison for cash-flow quality, …

Cash Inflows

Cash inflows are cash receipts entering a business from operations, financing, investing, asset sales, or other sources.

Cash Inflows and Outflows

Cash inflows and outflows track money entering and leaving a business, project, investment, or financing plan.

Cash Management

Cash Management is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Cash Manager

A Cash Manager is a financial professional who oversees the management of an organization's daily cash flow and liquidity to ensure smooth financial operations.

Cash Outflows

Cash outflows are payments leaving a business for expenses, investment, debt service, distributions, or other obligations.

Certainty Equivalent Method

The certainty equivalent method adjusts risky project cash flows to lower risk-adjusted amounts before discounting them in capital budgeting.

Circulating Assets

Circulating Assets is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Close Corporation Plan

A Close Corporation Plan details a prearrangement for surviving stockholders to purchase shares of a deceased stockholder, using a predetermined formula to value the corporation.

Closely Held Corporation

A closely held corporation has a small number of shareholders, limited share transferability, and ownership concentrated among founders, family, or insiders.

Co-Funding

Co-Funding involves collaborative funding from multiple sources for a single project, aiming to pool resources and share risks for achieving common objectives.

Combined Leverage

Combined leverage, also known as total leverage, is the integration of operating leverage and financial leverage.

Common Stock Ratio

The common stock ratio measures the share of a company's capital structure represented by common equity.

Company Limited by Shares

A company limited by shares limits shareholder liability to unpaid share amounts while allowing ownership to be divided into transferable shares.

Compensatory Stock Options

Compensatory Stock Options is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Complete Liquidation

Complete liquidation winds up a company by distributing remaining assets and redeeming all outstanding ownership interests.

Complex Capital Structure

A complex capital structure includes securities that may dilute common shareholders, such as options, warrants, convertibles, or contingent shares.

Concentration Banking

Concentration Banking is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Concentric Merger

A concentric merger combines companies with related customers, technologies, products, or markets but different operations.

Concert Party

A concert party is a group acting together to acquire control, influence voting, or coordinate takeover-related actions.

Conglomerate Merger

A conglomerate merger combines companies in unrelated businesses or industries.

Contingency Reserves

Contingency Reserves is a liquidity or working-capital metric used to assess short-term financial flexibility.

Contingent Consideration

Contingent consideration is deal payment that depends on post-closing events, milestones, performance, or other agreed conditions.

Contingent Value Right (CVR)

A contingent value right gives sellers or investors additional value if specified post-transaction outcomes occur.

Continuity of Life

Continuity of life is the corporate feature that allows an entity to continue despite changes in owners, shareholders, partners, or managers.

Control

Control is the power to direct a company's financial and operating policies, often affecting consolidation, governance, and valuation analysis.

Control Premium

Control premium is the extra value paid for the ability to direct a company's strategy, assets, and cash flows.

Controllable Investment

Controllable Investment is a capital-budgeting concept used to plan, approve, or evaluate long-term investment spending.

Controlled Corporation

A controlled corporation is subject to decisive influence by a parent, controlling shareholder, affiliated group, or other party with voting or contractual power.

Controlling Interest

Controlling Interest is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Cash Flow

Corporate Cash Flow covers Cash Flow Statement and Operating Cash Flow, Expense Controls and Operating Costs, Free Cash Flow, Capex, and Investment Cash Flows, Profitability, Margins, and …

Corporate Credit Ratings

Corporate credit ratings assess a company's ability to meet debt obligations and influence borrowing costs and market access.

Corporate Leverage

Corporate leverage is the use of debt or other fixed obligations to increase asset exposure and potential shareholder returns.

Corporate Raider

An investor known for conducting hostile takeovers to gain control and profit from selling off a company\\u2019s assets.

Corporate Reorganization

Corporate reorganization changes a company's legal, capital, ownership, or operating structure to address strategic or financial needs.

Corporate Restructuring

Changes to a company's capital structure, ownership, operations, or assets to improve viability or value.

Corporate Shareholder

Corporate Shareholder is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Corporate Treasury

Corporate Treasury is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Cost of Capital

Cost-of-capital terms for required return, WACC, debt costs, equity costs, capital budgeting, and valuation.

Cost of Debt

Effective borrowing cost used in WACC, refinancing analysis, leverage decisions, and credit-sensitive valuation.

Cost of Equity

The cost of equity is the return shareholders require to invest in a company's equity.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Cost-Benefit Analysis is an investment-appraisal tool used to compare project economics, recovery time, or return thresholds.

Cross-Holding

Cross-holding occurs when companies own shares in each other, creating reciprocal ownership links that can affect control, voting power, and consolidation analysis.

Crown Jewels

Crown jewels are a company's most valuable assets, sometimes targeted for sale or protection during takeover defense.

Cutoff Point

In capital budgeting, the Cutoff Point represents the minimum acceptable rate of return on investments.

Days Payable Outstanding (DPO)

Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Debt Ratio

The debt ratio compares total debt or liabilities with assets to show how much of the asset base is financed by creditors.

Debtor-Days Ratio

Debtor-Days Ratio is a receivables accounting concept used to estimate credit losses, doubtful accounts, or recoverability.

Deferred Consideration Agreement

A Deferred Consideration Agreement is a contract where the payment for a transaction is postponed to a future date or upon the occurrence of a specific event.

Demerger

A demerger separates a company into distinct businesses, often to improve focus, valuation, or strategic flexibility.

Discounted Payback Period

Capital-budgeting measure showing how long discounted cash inflows take to recover the initial investment.

Disproportionate Distribution

Disproportionate Distribution is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Distributable Reserves

Distributable reserves are profits or reserves legally available for dividends, buybacks, or other shareholder distributions.

Divestiture

A divestiture is the sale, spin-off, closure, or separation of a business unit, asset, or subsidiary.

Divestment

Divestment, sometimes referred to as divesture, is the process of selling off subsidiary business interests or investments.

Dividend Recapitalization

A dividend recapitalization uses new borrowing to fund a shareholder dividend, changing leverage and capital structure.

Down Round

A down round is a financing round priced below a company's previous valuation, often causing dilution and investor protections to matter.

Downstream Flow

Downstream Flow is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Dual-Capacity System

Dual-Capacity System is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Earmarked Fund

Earmarked funds are isolated from an organization's general funds and recorded separately to ensure they are used exclusively for their intended purpose.

Earned Revenue

Earned revenue is the income a company generates from delivering goods or providing services, recognized when the service or product is delivered.

Eastern Account

In finance, an Eastern Account is an underwriting agreement wherein all participating underwriters share collective responsibility for the total issuance.

Employee Stock Option

Employee Stock Option is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP)

Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Employee Stock Options (ESOs)

Employee Stock Options (ESOs) is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Equity Capital

Equity Capital is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Equity Ownership

Equity Capital and Ownership covers Agency, Shareholder Value, and Time Horizon, Dilution, Anti-Dilution, and Overhang, Equity Capital, Claims, and Financing, Minority Rights, Transfer, and …

Equity Capital

Equity-capital, paid-in capital, subscribed-share, divestment, and shareholder-action terms used in corporate finance.

Equity Capital Market (ECM)

The equity capital market connects issuers and investors through IPOs, follow-ons, placements, rights issues, and equity-linked deals.

Equity Crowdfunding

Equity crowdfunding lets companies raise capital from many investors by selling small ownership stakes through regulated platforms.

Equity Financing

Equity Financing involves raising money by selling part of the ownership, such as stock in a corporation, in contrast with debt financing.

Equity Holders

Equity holders, commonly referred to as shareholders, are individuals or institutions that own shares in a company.

Equity Interest

Equity Interest is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Equity Kicker

Equity Kicker is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Equity Offering

An equity offering raises capital by issuing or selling shares, ownership interests, or equity-linked securities to investors.

Equity Participation

Involvement in the ownership of a company, typically by holding stock or stock options.

Equity Partnership

Equity Partnership is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Equity Structure

Equity Structure is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Equity vs. Debt

Equity and debt are two primary ways that companies can raise capital.

ESOT

ESOT is an equity-compensation concept used to evaluate employee incentives, ownership, dilution, and compensation cost.

Evergreen Funding

Evergreen funding provides ongoing or replenishable capital instead of a one-time financing round or fixed fund life.

Excess Cash Flow

Excess Cash Flow is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Exchange Ratio

Exchange ratio sets how many acquirer shares target shareholders receive for each target share in a stock deal.

Executive Compensation

Executive Compensation is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Exit Strategy

An exit strategy is a planned route for owners or investors to realize value through sale, IPO, recapitalization, or liquidation.

Expense Report

An expense report documents business costs incurred by employees or departments for reimbursement, control, and accounting.

External Growth Rate (EGR)

External Growth Rate (EGR) refers to the rate of growth a company can achieve by leveraging external financing sources such as debt or equity.

Financial Capital

Financial capital refers to the monetary resources enterprises obtain from investors to develop products and services, facilitating growth and expansion.

Financial Capital Maintenance

Financial capital maintenance treats profit as arising only after preserving the financial amount of capital invested.

Financial Control

Processes for monitoring budgets, cash flows, costs, revenues, and financial compliance against management targets.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage uses borrowed capital or fixed financing claims to magnify returns and losses for equity holders.

Financial Management

Financial Management is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Financial Strategy

Financial Strategy is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Firm Commitment

A firm commitment underwriting requires underwriters to buy the securities from the issuer and resell them to investors.

Fixed Capital

Long-term capital committed to fixed assets such as buildings, machinery, and equipment used in operations.

Fixed Investment

Investment in fixed capital such as structures, equipment, vehicles, infrastructure, and other long-lived productive assets.

Fixed-Asset Investment

Capital spending on long-lived tangible assets such as property, plant, equipment, vehicles, facilities, and infrastructure.

Fixed-Charge-Coverage Ratio

The fixed-charge coverage ratio measures how well earnings cover recurring fixed financing charges such as interest and lease payments.

Follow-On Offering

A follow-on offering is a post-IPO sale of additional shares by an issuer or existing shareholders.

For-Profit Corporation

A for-profit corporation is organized to earn profits for owners or shareholders and differs from nonprofit entities in purpose, capital, and tax treatment.

Form D

SEC notice filing used to report certain exempt securities offerings, especially under Regulation D, without full registration.

Founder’s Equity

Founder equity is the ownership stake held by company founders, usually reflecting original shares, vesting terms, dilution, and later financing rounds.

Founders' Shares

Founders' Shares is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

FCF

Cash a business generates after operating needs and capital investment, widely used in valuation and capital allocation.

Free Cash Flow Problem

The Free Cash Flow Problem refers to the scenario where firms utilize their available cash flow on projects that do not contribute positively to the company's value.

Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE)

Free cash flow to equity estimates cash available to common shareholders after operating needs, reinvestment, and financing flows.

FCF, Capex & Investment Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow, Capex, and Investment Cash Flows covers Before-Tax Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE), Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), and related …

Free Transferability of Interest

Free Transferability of Interest is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Funding Spread

Funding Spread is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

G-Type Reorganization

A G-type reorganization is a tax reorganization involving asset transfer by a bankrupt or insolvent corporation.

Gearing Ratio

The Gearing Ratio measures the proportion of a company's debt relative to its equity, providing insight into its financial leverage and stability.

General Expense

General expense refers to broad operating costs that support the business but are not tied to one product or sale.

General Partner

General Partnerships: In this structure, all partners are general partners, sharing equal responsibility and liability.

Golden Parachute

A golden parachute gives executives substantial benefits if they lose their role after a change of control.

Golden Share

A golden share is a special type of share that provides its holder with the ability to control at least 51% of the voting rights of a company.

Grant Date

Grant Date is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Greenfield Investment

Capital investment that builds new operations, facilities, or capacity from the ground up instead of buying or reusing an existing site.

Greenmail

Greenmail is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Greenshoe Option

A greenshoe option lets underwriters buy additional shares after an offering to cover over-allotments and stabilize trading.

Grey Knight

Takeover bidder whose intentions or expected effect are less clearly favorable than a white knight or hostile bidder.

Holding Company

A holding company owns shares or interests in other entities to control subsidiaries, organize assets, manage risk, or separate business lines.

Horizontal Merger

A horizontal merger combines companies operating at the same value-chain stage, often as competitors or close substitutes.

Hostile Takeover

A hostile takeover seeks control of a target without support from the target company's board.

Hurdle Rate

Minimum acceptable project return used in capital budgeting to decide whether expected returns compensate for risk and opportunity cost.

Impaired Capital

Impaired capital occurs when losses reduce capital below required, stated, or economically sustainable levels.

Incentive Stock Options

Incentive Stock Options is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Income from Operations (IFO)

Income from operations measures profit from core business activities before non-operating items and financing effects.

Income vs. Cash Flow

Income measures accounting profit, while cash flow measures actual cash movement into and out of a business.

Incremental Budgeting

Incremental budgeting is a traditional budgeting process where the new budget is based on adjustments to the previous period's budget.

Incremental Cash Flow

Additional cash inflows and outflows caused by accepting a project, used in capital budgeting, NPV, IRR, and investment approval.

Incremental Cost of Capital

Cost of raising a specific additional financing package, used in project approval, deal funding, and capital-structure decisions.

Initial Investment

Upfront cash required to start a project, used as the time-zero input in NPV, IRR, payback, and capital-budgeting analysis.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

An initial public offering is the first sale of a private company's shares to public investors through a regulated offering.

Initial Subscription Price

The initial subscription price is the price investors pay to subscribe for shares or units at the start of an offering.

Interest on Capital

Interest on Capital represents the cost of using capital contributed by partners in a partnership.

Internal Expansion

Internal Expansion is a capital-budgeting concept used to plan, approve, or evaluate long-term investment spending.

Internal Financing

Internal financing uses cash generated by a business, such as retained earnings or working-capital releases, instead of external capital.

Internal Growth Rate (IGR)

Internal growth rate estimates how fast a company can grow using retained earnings without external financing.

Internal Transfers

Internal Transfers is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Investment Bank

Financial institution that advises on securities issuance, mergers, acquisitions, underwriting, and capital markets transactions.

Investment Bank vs. Retail Bank

Investment banks advise and underwrite capital markets transactions, while retail banks provide deposits, payments, and consumer lending.

Investment Banker

An investment banker advises on capital raising, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and securities offerings.

Investment Banking

Investment banking involves finance arrangement for corporations, mergers and acquisitions, market trading, and asset management, distinct from traditional banking activities.

Investor Relations

Corporate function that manages communications with shareholders, analysts, investors, and capital markets.

IPO Roadshow

An IPO roadshow is a series of investor presentations used to market an offering and gauge demand before pricing.

IRR vs. MIRR

Comparison of traditional IRR and MIRR, used to decide when project-return analysis needs explicit financing and reinvestment assumptions.

Issuance

Issuance and Funding covers Private and Growth Financing, Public Offerings and IPO Process, Rights, Subscriptions, and Share Allocation, Specialized, Project, and Export Finance, and related …

Issue Costs

Issue costs are fees and expenses incurred to issue securities, including underwriting, legal, accounting, and listing costs.

Issue Price

The issue price is the price at which newly issued securities are offered to investors.

Issued Capital

Issued capital is the portion of authorized share capital that a company has formally issued to shareholders.

Issued Share Capital

Issued share capital is the nominal or stated value of shares that a company has issued to shareholders.

Issued Shares

Issued shares are shares a company has created and distributed, whether held by investors, insiders, or in treasury depending on accounting rules.

Joint Venture

A joint venture is a business arrangement where parties share control, resources, risks, and returns for a specific project, entity, or commercial objective.

Joint-Stock Company

A joint-stock company is a business entity in which different stocks can be bought and owned by shareholders.

Junior Capital Pool (JCP)

A junior capital pool is a Canadian public-shell financing structure used to raise capital before identifying an operating business.

Junior Equity

Junior Equity is an equity-capital concept used to describe ownership claims, financing, participation, or shareholder economics.

Killer Bee

A killer bee is an adviser who helps a target company design defenses against hostile takeover attempts.

Leading and Lagging

Leading and lagging are financial techniques used to manage cash positions and reduce borrowing by accelerating or delaying the settlement of outstanding obligations.

Legal Capital

Legal capital refers to the amount of stockholders' equity that a corporation cannot distribute as dividends to shareholders.

Leverage

Leverage, in finance, refers to the use of borrowed capital (debt) to increase the potential return of an investment.

Leverage Ratio

A leverage ratio compares debt, assets, capital, or earnings to assess financial risk and reliance on borrowed funds.

Leveraged Buy-Out

A Leveraged Buy-Out (LBO) is a financial transaction in which a company's equity is acquired predominantly using borrowed funds.

Leveraged Buyback

A leveraged buyback uses debt to repurchase shares, increasing financial leverage while reducing equity outstanding.

Leveraged Buyout

A leveraged buyout acquires a company primarily with debt supported by the target's assets, cash flows, and expected exit value.

Leveraged Company

A leveraged company uses meaningful debt or fixed financing obligations alongside equity to fund operations or acquisitions.

Leveraged ESOP

A Leveraged Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a financial arrangement in which an ESOP borrows funds to purchase company stock, directly from the employer.

Leveraged Recapitalization

A leveraged recapitalization replaces part of a company's equity with debt to alter control, returns, or payout capacity.

Levered Free Cash Flow

Levered free cash flow is cash available to equity holders after operating needs, capital spending, and debt payments.

Limited Liability

Limited liability protects owners or investors from personal responsibility for business debts beyond their invested capital or agreed contribution.

Limited Liability Partnership

A limited liability partnership combines partnership-style management with liability protection for partners, subject to jurisdiction-specific rules.

Limited Partner

A limited partner is an individual or entity whose liability in a business partnership is confined to the amount of their investment.

Limited Partnership

A limited partnership has at least one general partner with management responsibility and one or more limited partners whose liability is usually capped.

Liquidation Preference

Liquidation preference gives specified investors priority in receiving proceeds before common shareholders in a sale, liquidation, or exit.

Liquidation Procedure

Liquidation procedure is the process for selling assets, settling claims, and distributing residual value to stakeholders.

Liquidity Management

Management of cash and liquid assets to meet obligations, fund operations, and reduce funding stress.

Liquidity Requirements

Standards ensuring institutions have enough liquid assets to meet short-term obligations.

Liquidity Reserves

Liquidity Reserves is a liquidity or working-capital metric used to assess short-term financial flexibility.

Loan Life Coverage Ratio (LLCR)

The loan life coverage ratio compares project cash flow available during the loan life with outstanding debt service requirements.

Lump-Sum Purchase

A lump-sum purchase involves the acquisition of two or more assets for a single price.

Maintenance Costs

Maintenance costs refer to the expenses incurred to keep assets and equipment in optimal condition and prevent excessive wear and tear.

Maintenance Expense

Maintenance expense is spending required to keep assets, facilities, or systems operating at usable condition.

Majority Interest

Majority Interest is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Management Buyout

A management buyout occurs when a company's managers acquire control of the business they operate.

Marginal Cost of Capital

Cost of the next dollar of capital, often shown as a breakpoint schedule for capital budgeting and financing decisions.

Marketing Expenses

Marketing expenses refer to all the costs incurred by a business in the process of promoting its products or services to consumers.

Maximum Capacity

Maximum Capacity is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Merger Arbitrage

Merger arbitrage is an event-driven strategy that trades the spread between a target company's market price and the expected merger consideration.

Merger Reserve

A merger reserve is an equity reserve created under merger accounting or share-for-share transaction rules.

M&A

Mergers and Acquisitions covers Deal Valuation, Consideration, and Financing, Divestitures, Restructuring, and Turnarounds, Takeover Bids and Defenses, and Transaction Types and Business …

Minority Shareholder Rights

Minority Shareholder Rights is a shareholder-rights or takeover concept tied to voting power, ownership protection, or corporate control.

Modigliani-Miller Theorem

The Modigliani-Miller theorem explains how capital structure affects firm value under idealized assumptions and how taxes and frictions change the result.

Monetization

Monetization involves transforming a business or asset into a source of revenue. This article covers its historical context, types, key events, methods, models, examples, and more.

Multinational Corporation

A multinational corporation operates across multiple countries through foreign subsidiaries, branches, production, sales, financing, or management structures.

Necessary Expense

A necessary expense is a required cost for operating, preserving assets, complying with rules, or completing business activity.

Negative Cash Flow

Negative cash flow occurs when cash outflows exceed cash inflows over a period, project, or business cycle.

Net Cash Flow

Net increase or decrease in cash after cash inflows and outflows during a period.

Net Debt

Net debt subtracts cash and cash equivalents from debt to estimate the debt burden remaining after available liquidity.

Net Margin

Net margin measures net income as a percentage of revenue, showing how much profit remains after all expenses, interest, and taxes.

Net Revenue

Net revenue is revenue after deducting returns, allowances, discounts, pass-through amounts, or other specified reductions.

Nil Paid Shares

Nil Paid Shares refer to shares issued by a company without requiring an immediate cash payment from the shareholder.

No-Par Stock

No-par stock is stock issued without a stated par value, reducing the role of nominal value in legal capital accounting.

Nonstock Corporation

A nonstock corporation has no share capital, so governance, membership rights, and financing differ from shareholder-owned corporations.

Offer for Sale

An offer for sale lets existing shareholders sell securities to public investors through an organized offering process.

Offer for Sale Placing

Offer for Sale Placing is a method where shares are sold directly to the public, typically through brokers, enabling companies to raise capital efficiently.

Offering Circular

Offering document used in certain securities sales, often in narrower or exempt contexts where disclosure is still required but the framework differs from a standard prospectus.

Offering Date

The offering date is the date securities are first made available to investors under a public or private issuance.

Open Market Repurchase

Open Market Repurchase is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Open Offer

An open offer lets existing shareholders buy new shares without separately tradable rights, usually to raise equity capital.

Operating Assets

Operating Assets is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Operating Budget

Accrual-based revenue and expense plan used to control operations, test margins, and connect business activity with cash needs.

Operating Cycle

Operating Cycle is a working-capital measure used to analyze how quickly operations turn cash into inventory, sales, and collections.

Operating Leverage

Operating leverage measures how fixed costs magnify the effect of revenue changes on operating income and business risk.

Operating Profit/Loss

Operating profit or loss measures income from core operations before interest, taxes, and non-operating items.

Operating Revenue

Operating revenue is revenue earned from a company's primary business activities rather than incidental or non-operating sources.

Operating Statement

Internal performance report comparing operating revenue, costs, and profit against budget to explain margins, variance, and controllable results.

Operational Efficiency

Operational Efficiency is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Operational Investment

Operational investments are short-term investments that businesses utilize for day-to-day operational activities, distinct from long-term capital investments.

Operational Reserves

Reserve funds held to cover operating needs, working-capital pressure, or unexpected disruptions.

Optimal Capital Structure

Optimal capital structure is the debt and equity mix that balances cost of capital, financial flexibility, control, and distress risk.

Optimum Capacity

The optimum capacity level of output in manufacturing operations that leads to the lowest cost per unit.

Option Pool

Option Pool is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Ordinary Share Capital

Ordinary share capital represents common equity capital issued to ordinary shareholders, usually carrying residual claims and voting rights.

Original Equity

Original Equity refers to the initial cash investment made by the underlying owner, distinctly separate from sweat equity and capital calls.

Outstanding Capital Stock

Shares of a corporation currently held by investors, including institutional and individual shareholders.

Over-Subscription

Over-subscription occurs when investor demand for an offering exceeds the number of securities available.

Overcapitalization

Overcapitalization occurs when a company has more capital claims than its earnings power or asset base can support efficiently.

Overhang

Overhang is an equity-finance provision or condition that affects shareholder ownership, dilution, or future share issuance.

Overissue

Issuance of shares beyond the amount authorized or properly available under corporate documents or law.

Overleveraged

Overleveraged describes a company or borrower with too much debt relative to cash flow, assets, or refinancing capacity.

Oversubscription Privilege

An oversubscription privilege lets eligible holders request extra shares not taken up by other investors in a rights offering.

Own Shares Purchase

The concept of Own Shares Purchase involves a company buying back its shares from shareholders.

Pac-Man Defense

Pac-Man defense is a hostile-takeover defense in which the target tries to acquire the would-be acquirer.

Paid-In Capital

Paid-in capital is the amount shareholders contributed to a company through share purchases and related equity issuances.

Paid-In Capital Surplus

Paid-In Capital Surplus refers to the additional capital received from investors in exchange for stock, beyond the par value of the stock.

Paid-up Share Capital

Paid-up share capital is the portion of issued share capital that shareholders have actually paid to the company.

Par Value Stock

Par value stock has a stated nominal value assigned to each share for legal capital and accounting purposes.

Partial Buyout

A partial buyout acquires only part of a company's equity, assets, or ownership interests.

Partial Liquidation

Corporate distribution that can be treated as a partial return of capital or capital gain event for shareholders.

Participating Interest

Participating Interest is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Partnership

A partnership is a business structure where two or more parties share ownership, profits, losses, management responsibilities, and legal obligations.

Partnership Agreement

A partnership agreement sets the ownership, profit-sharing, management, contribution, exit, and dispute rules among business partners.

Performance Stock Options (PSOS)

Performance Stock Options (PSOS) is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Permissible Capital Payment

A Permissible Capital Payment (PCP) refers to a payment made out of a company's capital when redeeming or purchasing its own shares.

Phantom Stock

Phantom stock is a compensation strategy where employees receive benefits equivalent to actual company stock, but without any transfer of equity ownership.

Phantom Stock Plan

Phantom Stock Plan is an equity-compensation concept used to evaluate employee incentives, ownership, dilution, and compensation cost.

Placed Deal

A placed deal is a securities offering sold directly to selected investors rather than broadly marketed to the public.

Placing

The sale of shares by a company to a selected group of individuals or institutions, often used for raising additional capital.

Planned Investment

Intended investment spending before actual capital outlays, inventory changes, delays, and funding constraints are known.

Plough-Back

Plough-back reinvests retained earnings into the business instead of distributing them to shareholders.

Poison Pill

A tactic employed by companies to discourage unwanted takeover bids by implementing strategies that make the company less attractive to potential acquirers.

Positive Cash Flow

Positive cash flow occurs when cash inflows exceed cash outflows, increasing available liquidity over a period.

Positive Leverage

Positive Leverage is a financial strategy involving the use of borrowed funds to increase the potential return on an investment.

Post-Acquisition Profits

Post-acquisition profits are earnings generated after a business combination and can affect consolidation, valuation, and distribution analysis.

Pre-emption Rights

Pre-emption Rights is a shareholder-rights or takeover concept tied to voting power, ownership protection, or corporate control.

Pre-Operational Expenses

Pre-operational expenses are costs incurred before a business, project, facility, or operation begins generating revenue.

Preference Share Capital

Preference share capital is equity with priority dividend or liquidation rights compared with ordinary common shares.

Preferred & Hybrid Capital

Preferred, Senior, and Hybrid Capital covers Liquidation Preference, Non-Participating Preference Share, Preference Share Capital, Senior Capital, and related corporate-finance topics for …

Preliminary Prospectus

Early offering document filed before final pricing that describes a proposed securities offering.

Pretax Earnings

Pretax earnings measure profit before income tax expense and are used to compare operating performance across tax environments.

Pretax Profit Margin

Pretax profit margin shows pretax earnings as a percentage of revenue, indicating profitability before income taxes.

Primary Distribution

A primary distribution sells newly issued securities, with proceeds usually going to the issuer.

Primary Market

The primary market is where issuers sell new securities to investors and receive capital from the transaction.

Private Corporation

A private corporation is owned by a limited group of shareholders and does not offer its shares to the general public on an exchange.

Private Markets

Private equity and private-market investment terms for non-public company finance, funds, and exits.

Private Placement

The sale of securities to a select group of investors rather than the general public, primarily used to raise capital without a public offering.

Private Placement Memorandum (PPM)

A private placement memorandum discloses offering terms, risks, issuer information, and investor requirements in a private securities offering.

Proceeds from Resale

Proceeds from resale are cash or consideration received from selling an asset, product, security, or item previously acquired.

Production Capacity

Production Capacity is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Profit Center

Business unit or segment accountable for generating revenue, controlling costs, and producing profit.

Profit Distributions

Profit Distributions is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Profitability

Profitability refers to a company's ability to generate financial gains, typically assessed using metrics such as net income.

Prospectus

Offering document that gives investors required information about securities being sold, including issuer details, risks, and use of proceeds.

Proxy Battle

Proxy Battle is a shareholder-rights or takeover concept tied to voting power, ownership protection, or corporate control.

Public Corporation

A public corporation may refer to a government-owned entity or a corporation whose shares are publicly traded, depending on context.

Public Offering

Capital-raising transaction in which securities are sold to the public, often through an IPO or follow-on registered offering.

Publicly Traded Corporation

Publicly Traded Corporation is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Purchase Price Allocation

Purchase price allocation assigns an acquisition's purchase price to identifiable assets, liabilities, and goodwill.

Qualifying Stock Option

Qualifying Stock Option is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Quarterly Revenue Growth

Quarterly revenue growth measures the percentage change in revenue from one quarter to another comparable period.

Rate-of-Return Pricing

Rate-of-return pricing sets prices to recover costs and earn a target return on invested capital.

Rate-of-Return Regulation

Rate-of-return regulation lets regulated utilities set prices based on approved costs and an allowed return on capital.

Re-issue of Shares

Re-issue of Shares is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Recapitalization

Recapitalization changes the mix of debt, equity, preferred stock, or other capital claims in a company's financing structure.

Recaps & Payouts

Recapitalization, Payouts, and Capital Actions covers Recapitalizations and Leveraged Actions, Retained Capital and War Chests, and Share Capital Alterations and Reductions for …

Recurring Revenue

Recurring revenue is predictable revenue expected to repeat over time through subscriptions, contracts, renewals, or ongoing usage.

Reduction of Capital

Reduction of Capital is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Reimbursement

Reimbursement repays a person or entity for approved out-of-pocket costs, business expenses, or recoverable payments.

Reserves & Maintenance

Reserves, Surplus, and Capital Maintenance covers Capital and Redemption Reserves, Capital Maintenance Concepts, and Revaluation, Distributable, and Merger Reserves for capital-structure, …

Revenue Center

A Revenue Center is a distinct division within an organization primarily responsible for generating sales and revenue, emphasizing the income aspect rather than profitability.

Revenue Generating Unit (RGU)

A revenue generating unit is a customer, subscription, device, or account that contributes recurring or measurable revenue.

Revenue Stream

A revenue stream is a distinct source of recurring or transaction-based income within a business model.

Reverse Takeover

A reverse takeover lets a private company become publicly traded by acquiring or merging with a public shell or listed company.

Reverse Triangular Merger

A reverse triangular merger uses a subsidiary of the acquirer to merge into the target, leaving the target as the surviving entity.

Revolving Fund

A Revolving Fund is an account or sum of money that, if used or borrowed, is intended to be replenished to its original balance, so it may be spent or loaned repeatedly.

Rights Issue

A rights issue offers existing shareholders the right to buy new shares, often at a discount, to raise capital.

Ring-Fencing

Ring-fencing isolates assets, liabilities, cash flows, or operations to protect them from broader group risk.

Risk Arbitrage

Risk arbitrage is event-driven trading that prices the probability, timing, and downside risk of corporate transactions.

Risk Capital

Risk capital is money exposed to potential loss in pursuit of investment, business, or underwriting returns.

Risk-Adjusted Discount Rate

Discount rate adjusted for cash-flow risk, used when project, asset, or company risk differs from a baseline capital cost.

Runway

Liquidity measure estimating how long a company can operate before current cash is exhausted at its net burn rate.

Sales Revenue

Sales revenue is income earned from selling goods or services before deducting expenses, returns, or allowances.

Savings Related Share Option Scheme

Savings Related Share Option Scheme is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Scrip

Scrip certificates traditionally provided proof of ownership, detailed the rights of the holders, and facilitated the transfer of ownership.

Seasoned Issue

Seasoned issues are securities issued by companies recognized for their established quality and enjoy high liquidity in the secondary market.

Secondary Buyout

A secondary buyout sells a portfolio company from one private equity sponsor or financial owner to another.

Secondary Distribution

A secondary distribution sells previously issued securities held by existing investors rather than newly issued company shares.

Secondary Offering

A Secondary Offering refers to the sale of shares that have already been issued to the public and are now being sold by current shareholders.

Securities Issue

A securities issue is a new offering of stocks, bonds, or other securities used to raise capital or distribute ownership.

Segment Margin

Segment margin measures the profitability of a business unit, product line, or geographic segment after directly attributable costs.

Self-Tender Offer

A self-tender offer is a company's offer to repurchase its own shares, sometimes used in takeover defense or capital restructuring.

Senior Capital

Senior capital has priority over junior capital in payment, liquidation, or claim ranking within a financing structure.

Senior Equity

Senior equity ranks ahead of junior equity for dividends, liquidation proceeds, or negotiated economic rights.

Senior Security

Senior security refers to a financial instrument or security that possesses a superior claim over junior obligations and equity on a corporation's assets and earnings.

Series B Financing

Series B financing is a growth-stage equity round used to scale operations after a company has shown traction.

SG&A

Selling expenses are the costs associated with the efforts to sell a company's products or services.

Share Capital

Share capital is the equity funding represented by a company's issued shares under corporate and accounting rules.

Share Dilution

Share Dilution refers to the reduction in existing shareholders' ownership percentage due to the issuance of additional shares by the company.

Share Incentive Plan

Share Incentive Plan is an equity-compensation concept used to evaluate employee incentives, ownership, dilution, and compensation cost.

Share Issued at a Discount

A share issued at a discount is issued below nominal or par value where corporate law permits or historically allowed it.

Share Issued at a Premium

A share issued at a premium is sold above nominal or par value, with the excess usually recorded as share premium or additional paid-in capital.

Share Option

Share Option is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Share Premium

Share premium is the amount received for issued shares above their nominal or par value.

Share Repurchase

Share Repurchase is a corporate capital action that affects share count, ownership, distributions, or shareholder value.

Share-Based Payment Transaction

Share-Based Payment Transaction is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Shareholder Agreement

A shareholder agreement sets ownership rights, transfer limits, voting rules, buy-sell terms, and governance procedures among shareholders.

Shareholder Liability

Shareholder liability describes when, and how far, shareholders can be financially responsible for corporate debts, obligations, or legal claims.

Shareholder Rights

Shareholder Rights is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Shareholder Rights Plan

A shareholder rights plan is a takeover defense that dilutes or deters an unwanted acquirer after specified ownership triggers.

SHARESAVE

SHARESAVE is an equity-compensation concept used to evaluate employee incentives, ownership, dilution, and compensation cost.

Shark Repellent

Shark Repellent refers to various defensive measures implemented by corporations to deter or fend off hostile takeover attempts.

Short-Termism

Short-Termism is a corporate-finance behavior where near-term results are prioritized over durable investment and shareholder value.

Single-Capacity System

Single-Capacity System is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Sleeping Partner

Passive partner who contributes capital to a partnership without taking part in day-to-day management.

SME

An SME is a small or medium-sized enterprise, usually classified by revenue, assets, employee count, or local regulatory thresholds.

Spare Capacity

Spare Capacity is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Specialized Finance

Specialized corporate funding terms for co-funding, project-specific finance, export finance, and nonstandard capital sources.

Spin-Off

A spin-off distributes or separates a subsidiary into an independent company, usually with its own shares and management.

Spin-Off vs. Split-Up

Spin-offs and split-ups both separate businesses, but they differ in whether the parent continues after the restructuring.

Spin-Out

A Spin-Out is a corporate action where a company creates a new independent entity by separating part of its operations or assets into the newly formed company.

Split-Off

A basic financial model for evaluating a split-off involves comparing the value of shares exchanged and the expected market value of the split-off entity.

Staggered Board

A staggered board is a corporate governance strategy where board members are elected in increments, complicating quick control takeovers.

Standard Cash Flow Pattern

A standard cash flow pattern has an initial outflow followed by inflows, simplifying investment appraisal and IRR analysis.

Standard Operating Profit

Standard operating profit is a normalized measure of profit from ordinary operations before selected adjustments or non-operating effects.

Standby Underwriting

Standby underwriting is a financial guarantee where underwriters commit to purchase any remaining shares not subscribed by shareholders during a new issue.

Startup Costs

Startup costs are expenses incurred to create, launch, and prepare a new business before normal operations begin.

Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs)

Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) is an equity-compensation concept used to evaluate employee incentives, ownership, dilution, and compensation cost.

Stock Compensation

Stock Compensation is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Stock Option

Stock Option is an equity-compensation concept tied to option grants, exercise economics, dilution, or employee incentives.

Stock Option Plan

Equity compensation arrangement granting employees options to buy company shares under specified terms.

Stock Purchase Plan

Stock Purchase Plan is an equity-compensation concept used to evaluate employee incentives, ownership, dilution, and compensation cost.

Stock Rights

Stock rights give shareholders or investors the ability to buy shares under specified terms, often in a rights offering.

Stock Vesting

Stock Vesting is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Stock-for-Asset Reorganization

A stock-for-asset reorganization uses voting stock to acquire target assets under a qualifying reorganization structure.

Stock-for-Stock Reorganization

A stock-for-stock reorganization involves one corporation acquiring at least 80% of another corporation's stock using its own voting stock, creating a subsidiary relationship.

Strategic Financial Management

Strategic Financial Management is a working-capital concept used to evaluate operating cash needs, short-term funding, and business efficiency.

Subscribed Share Capital

Subscribed share capital is the portion of share capital investors have agreed to take up or pay for.

Subscribed Shares

Subscribed shares are shares investors have agreed to buy or have committed capital for, often before full issuance or payment is complete.

Subscriber

A subscriber is an investor or entity that applies to buy securities in an offering, placement, or subscription round.

Subscription Price

Price at which investors may buy shares through rights, warrants, options, or subscription agreements.

Subsidiary

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by another company, usually through majority ownership, voting rights, or contractual control.

Supplier Credit

Supplier Credit is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Sweetener

A 'Sweetener' refers to an added feature in a securities offering designed to make the securities more attractive to purchasers.

Syndicator

A syndicator organizes multiple investors, lenders, or underwriters to participate in a financing, offering, or investment deal.

Tag-Along Rights

Tag-along rights are contractual obligations often found in shareholder agreements and articles of association.

Takeover

A takeover is an acquisition of control over a company through share purchases, tender offers, mergers, or negotiated transactions.

Tender Offer

A tender offer asks shareholders to sell shares directly to a bidder at specified price and terms.

Tombstone

Financial advertisement or notice announcing a securities offering or completed financing transaction.

Top-Down Budgeting

Top-Down Budgeting is a financial planning method where senior management sets the budget with minimal input from lower levels, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.

Total Capitalization

Total capitalization combines long-term debt, preferred equity, and common equity to show a company's long-term financing base.

Total Debt

Total debt is the sum of a company's short-term and long-term interest-bearing obligations.

Treasury Management

Treasury Management is an operating-balance concept used to manage receivables, payables, inventory, or short-term liquidity.

Turnaround Management

Turnaround Management involves strategies and actions employed to revive companies experiencing financial distress, often requiring the involvement of external stakeholders.

Unbundling

Unbundling involves the separation of a business into its constituent parts or the selling off of separate parts of a security.

Uncalled Capital

Uncalled capital is subscribed capital that a company has not yet required shareholders to pay.

Unconventional Cash Flow

An unconventional cash flow has multiple sign changes, which can complicate IRR and project evaluation.

Undercapitalization

Undercapitalization occurs when a company lacks enough equity, debt capacity, or working capital to support operations and growth.

Underleveraged

Underleveraged refers to a situation where a company carries too little debt, potentially missing out on growth opportunities that could be financed through borrowing.

Underlying Profit

Underlying profit adjusts reported profit to remove items viewed as non-recurring, non-operating, or not reflective of core performance.

Underpricing

Underpricing occurs when securities are offered below their early trading value, often creating a first-day return for investors.

Underwriter

An underwriter evaluates, prices, assumes, or distributes financial risk in securities offerings, loans, insurance, or similar transactions.

Underwriting Group

An underwriting group is a set of banks or dealers that jointly underwrite and distribute a securities offering.

Underwriting Syndicate

An underwriting syndicate is a group of underwriters that share offering risk, distribution responsibility, and economics.

Unissued Stock

Unissued stock is authorized share capital that a company has not yet issued to investors or employees.

Unlimited Liability

Unlimited liability means owners can be personally responsible for business debts, legal claims, or obligations beyond their invested capital.

Unpaid Shares

Unpaid shares are issued or subscribed shares for which some or all required payment remains outstanding.

Unquoted Public Company

An unquoted public company can have public-company status without its shares being listed or actively traded on a stock exchange.

Unsolicited Bid

An unsolicited bid is an acquisition proposal made without prior invitation or agreement from the target company.

Unsubscribed Shares

Unsubscribed shares are offering shares not purchased by eligible investors during a subscription or rights period.

Variable Expense

Cost that changes with business activity, used in budgeting, margin analysis, contribution margin, and operating leverage decisions.

Variable Interest Entity

A variable interest entity is a legal entity consolidated based on economic control through variable interests rather than simple voting ownership.

Vendor Placing

An insightful look into vendor placing, its historical context, mechanisms, and significance in corporate acquisitions.

Venture Capital-Backed IPO

A venture capital-backed IPO takes a VC-funded company public, giving early investors a path toward liquidity.

Vertical Integration

Vertical integration brings suppliers, distributors, or adjacent value-chain activities under common ownership or control.

Vertical Merger

A vertical merger combines companies at different stages of the same supply chain or distribution channel.

Vested Stock

Vested Stock is an equity-award concept used to analyze vesting, employee ownership, compensation cost, or dilution.

Voting Share Capital

Voting Share Capital is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

War Chest

A war chest is a reserve of cash, liquid assets, or financing capacity held for acquisitions, defenses, downturns, or strategic opportunities.

Warehousing

Interim holding of inventory, assets, loans, or securities before sale, securitization, or distribution.

Watered Stock

Watered stock refers to shares issued or recorded at a value above the company's real asset or capital contribution backing.

Wealth Added Index (WAI)

Wealth Added Index measures shareholder wealth created or destroyed after comparing actual value creation with investor expectations.

WACC

Blended cost of debt and equity capital, used in valuation, project screening, and capital allocation.

Whisper Stock

A whisper stock is rumored to be a takeover target, causing price movement before any confirmed deal announcement.

White Knight

A white knight is a friendly acquirer invited to rescue a target from an unwanted hostile bidder.

Working Control

Working Control is a corporate-ownership concept tied to voting power, shareholder rights, control, or governance.

Zero-Based Budgeting

Zero-Based Budgeting is a corporate-finance concept used to evaluate long-term projects, capital allocation, and investment returns.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026