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Let’s Talk About “Earnings Per Share”: Why You Should Care, Even If You’re Not a Finance Nerd 💰🤓 Okay, I know as soon as you hear “calculate earnings per share,” your eyes might glaze over and you might wanna scroll away. BUT HOLD ON – I promise this isn’t gonna be a boring finance lecture. In fact, learning how to calculate earnings per share (EPS) totally changed the way I look at investing (and even some meme stocks, lol). Lemme spill the tea ☕️👇 So, What *is* Earnings Per Share Anyway? Imagine you own a slice of your favorite pizza place 🍕. Every year, that pizza place earns a profit, and you wanna know — “Hey, if I shared that profit with all the owners, how much would my tiny slice get?” That’s basically what EPS tells you! It’s the profit a company makes, divided up per share of stock. Super simple: EPS = (Net Income - Dividends on Preferred Stock) / Number of Outstanding Shares …but omg, it can reveal so much about a company. Why EPS Is Kinda a Big Deal (Yeah, Even If You’re Just Starting Out) My first time really nerding out with EPS was right after I accidentally bought a stock because TikTok said it was “lowkey undervalued” 😂. (Relatable?) I panicked and started reading up, and realized: EPS is like a report card for how much a business is actually making for each share you hold. It helps you sort through the hype and see who’s really earning that dough. Bigger EPS? Company’s making more money for you per share 👏 EPS dropping? Maybe things aren’t going so great… time to look closer 🚩 Comparing 2 stocks? Check their EPS. The higher, the more profitable (in simple terms, but remember — not the only thing to look at!) Real Life Example: My “Why Didn’t I Check EPS?!” Moment No lie, I once FOMO’d into a stock just because “everyone” on Twitter was hyping it 🚀. Didn’t check the EPS or any fundamentals. A month later? Turns out, their EPS was negative (they were losing money!), and the stock tanked over 20%. Ouch. If I had just googled the EPS, I’d have slowed my roll. Lesson learned — don’t just follow the hype, fam. How to Actually Calculate EPS (No Fancy Math Skills Needed!) Seriously, if you can use a calculator app, you can figure this out: Find the company’s net income (it’s on their income statement or Yahoo Finance, seriously just Google “company name + net income”). Subtract any preferred dividends (if you even need to — most of us don’t mess with preferred shares). Count up the total shares still out there. (Again, Yahoo Finance or Google knows!) Plug and chug: Divide net income by shares. That’s your EPS. 🎉 For example, if a company made $10 million and has 5 million shares out there, EPS = $2. Final Thoughts: Should You Care About EPS? My Honest Take If you’re thinking about diving into stocks (or if you’re already in), learning how to quickly calculate EPS is like having a secret weapon 🔎. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not *everything* (some solid companies might have a meh EPS if they’re investing in growth), but ignoring it? That’s like buying a mystery box and not checking if there’s anything valuable inside, haha. My advice? Next time you see a stock hyped up online, take 60 seconds and peek at their EPS. You might be surprised what you find! And hey, let me know if you want a video breakdown — I love geeking out about these numbers with you all 📈💬 What’s your experience with EPS? Have you ever checked it before buying, or do you just trust your gut (or meme stocks 😂)? Drop your stories or questions below! 👇👇