Net income
What remains after every expense, interest payment and tax.
How to read the number
Dividends are paid out of it and P/E is calculated from it. It is the best known and the most easily distorted figure in the accounts.
When the metric lies
Where it is used
The metric is calculated across every security in the catalogue and appears on the instrument card, in the multiples table and in the screener.
Also known as: net income, net profit, bottom line