Glossary of Investment Terms

Backlog—orders for goods and services that have been received, but not yet delivered or rendered.

Balance Sheet—financial statement that lists the assets, debts, and owner's investment as of a specific date.

Basic Earnings Per Share—net income divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during a period. (This calculation is required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board for all years ending after December 15, 1997.)

Basis Point—in the context of discussions on interest rates, one basis point equals one-hundredth of one percentage point.

Beta—a relative measure of the historical sensitivity of the stock's price to overall fluctuations in the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index. A Beta of 1.50 indicates a stock tends to rise (or fall) 50% more than the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index. The ''Beta coefficient'' is derived from a regression analysis of the relationship between weekly percentage changes in the price of a stock and weekly percentage changes in the NYSE Index over a period of five years. In the case of shorter price histories, a smaller time period is used, but two years is the minimum. The Betas are adjusted for their long-term tendency to converge toward 1.00.

Bond—a long-term debt instrument, characterized typically by fixed, semiannual interest payments and a specified maturity date.

Book Value Per Share—net worth (including intangible assets), less preferred stock at liquidating or redemption value, divided by common shares outstanding.

Business Data—a section on a Value Line company report that describes the company's most important products, lists large shareholders, and includes the company's address, telephone number, and Internet address.