Glossary of Investment Terms

GAAP—abbreviation for the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles used by U.S. companies and determined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), a private, industry-sponsored organization.

General and Administrative Expenses —expenses such as salaries, rents, advertising, and public relations.

Geometric Average—a geometric average is the nth root of the product of n terms. If n = 3, the geometric average of the three numbers would be the cube (or third) root of the product of the three numbers.

Goodwill—see intangibles.

Government Securities (Bank Industries)—fixed-income debt obligations of the U.S. Government and federal agencies.

Gross Billings (Advertising Industry)—the aggregate outlays for advertising paid by clients to the media. Billings generally serve as a basis for agency commissions.

Gross Dividend Declared Per ADR (American Depositary Receipts)—dividends per ADR declared (but not necessarily paid) during the company's fiscal year before any withholding taxes. For companies based in the United Kingdom, dividends declared are net of the Advance Corporation Tax.

Gross Equipment (Air Transport Industry)—the total of all flight equipment, ground stations, and other property, and all equipment (including property under capital lease) at original cost as reported by the airline company. Does not include advance payments for new equipment.

Gross Income (Financial Services Industry)—the total off interest on receivables, discounts, commissions, service charges, and other revenues.

Gross Income (REIT and Thrift Industries)—all income earned in normal operations excluding nonrecurring items such as gains from property sales.

Gross Income to Interest Ratio (Financial Services Industry)—gross income divided by total interest paid.

Gross Loans (Bank Industries)—total loans outstanding before deductions for loan-loss reserves and unearned income.

Gross Margin—Gross Profit as a % of Sales.

Gross Portfolio Yield (Investment Companies)—gross annual income (before any expenses) divided by total assets at year end, expressed as a percentage.

Gross Profit (Industrial and Retail Industries)—The income remaining after subtracting the cost of the goods sold. Gross Profit is income before other expenses such as general, selling, and administrative costs, interest, depreciation, and taxes.

Growth Stock—stocks of companies whose earnings grow consistently over time reflecting the fact that such companies have limited sensitivity to the country's economy as it moves up and down (the opposite of a cyclical stock, which is defined above).