Normalized Earnings
Normalized earnings are a company's earnings adjusted to remove one-time or non-recurring events, such as extraordinary gains or losses, restructuring costs, or litigation settlements. This provides a clearer picture of a company's true performance over time by excluding unusual items that may distort profitability. Normalized earnings help investors and analysts assess a company's ongoing earning power without the effects of short-term fluctuations.
Example
A company’s reported earnings include a large one-time gain from the sale of a subsidiary. To evaluate its core performance, analysts calculate normalized earnings by excluding this gain.
Key points
• Earnings adjusted to remove non-recurring or one-time events.
• Provides a clearer picture of a company’s ongoing profitability.
• Helps investors assess the true earning power of a company over time.
Quick Answers to Curious Questions
By excluding one-time events, normalized earnings reflect the company's sustainable and recurring profitability, allowing for more accurate comparisons over time.
Items like extraordinary gains, restructuring costs, litigation settlements, and other one-time revenues or expenses are excluded.
If a company has substantial one-time events, normalized earnings can be much lower or higher than reported earnings, providing a more accurate view of regular business operations.