Contributed Surplus

Contributed Surplus

The amount of money a company earns from sources other than its main business operation.

Notes:

The contributed surplus figure helps both investors and the company itself to distinguish between non-operational and operational income and is found within shareholders' equity on their balance sheet. If this value was combined with operational earnings, investors would have a hard time forecasting relatively accurate future earnings, since earnings from contributed surplus are not a part of ongoing business operations.

When a stock is sold above par value by the company in a primary offering, the additional amount would be added to their contributed surplus account.

See also: Balance Sheet, Earnings, Operating Earnings, Operating Expense, Par Value, Shareholders' Equity, Stock