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P/E Ratio

Price-to-earnings ratio, a common valuation metric.

The P/E ratio divides a company's stock price by its earnings per share. A higher P/E suggests investors expect higher future growth. Trailing P/E uses historical earnings while forward P/E uses analyst estimates. P/E should be compared to historical averages and industry peers for context.

Key Takeaways

  • Context matters when interpreting any financial metric.
  • Combine multiple data points for informed decisions.
  • Continue learning to build investment knowledge.

Quick Reference

Category
valuation
Difficulty
Beginner
Reading Time
1 min

Where You'll See This

This concept appears throughout stock detail pages and financial data.