The earnings, or profits, as reported by the company for each of the past five fiscal years. Net income reflects the income available for the common stockholders.
Benefit
This figure is a useful snapshot of how much a company earned in a given year, but it should always be looked at in the context of net income figures for previous years and for the trailing twelve months. If TTM net income is lower than Y1 net income, it means the company’s earnings have been slipping recently.
Origin
This information is found in the company’s income statement in the annual report and 10-Q report for each time period.
For the Pros
Use the following formula to see if a company has bought back or issued shares over the past five years:
((Net Income Year 1 / EPS Year 1) – (Net Income Year 5 / EPS Year 5)) / (Net Income Year 5 / EPS Year 5) x 100