Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,724,304,832 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Dilution
(redirected from diluted)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
Dilution
Diminution in the proportion of income to which each share is entitled.

dilution
A decrease in the equity position of a share of stock because of the issuance of additional shares. Dilution is usually detrimental to the position of existing shareholders because it weakens their proportional claim on earnings and assets. See also potential dilution.

Dilution. Dilution occurs when a company issues additional shares of stock, and as a result the earnings per share and the book value per share decline.

This happens because earnings per share and book value per share are calculated by dividing the total earnings or book value by the number of existing shares.

The larger the number of shares, the lower the value of each share. Lower earnings per share may trigger a selloff in the stock, lowering its price. That's one reason a company may choose to issue bonds rather than new stock to raise additional capital.

Similarly, if companies merge or one buys another, earnings may be diluted if they don't increase proportionately with the combined number of shares in the newly created company.

Dilution can also occur if warrants and stock options on a stock are exercised, and if convertible bonds and preferred stock the company issued are converted to common stock.

Companies must report the worst-case potential for such dilution, or loss of value, to their shareholders as diluted earnings per share.


Dilution

What Does Dilution mean?

A reduction in earnings per share of common stock that occurs as a result of an issuance of additional shares or through the conversion of convertible securities into additional common shares.

Investopedia explains Dilution

Adding to the number of shares outstanding reduces the value of the holdings of existing shareholders.

Related Terms:
Convertible Bond
Convertible Preferred Stock
Diluted Earnings per ShareDiluted EPS
Outstanding Shares
Shareholders' Equity



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in
 
Financial browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Financial Dictionary
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.