Earnings
Profit; bottom-line income after expenses.
Formula
Earnings = Revenue − All Costs (including tax and interest)
Real World
Apple regularly reports record earnings — over $90 billion net profit in 2023 — which it uses to fund share buybacks and dividends, directly rewarding shareholders.
Exam Focus
Distinguish retained earnings (reinvested) from distributed earnings (dividends) when answering questions about investment or shareholder returns.
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