This investing glossary focuses on terms used in company analysis, valuation, cash flow, earnings, required return, and business-model analysis. The terms are grouped by analytical use so a definition can lead into the investor question it helps answer.
Browse Investing Glossary Terms
| Term family | Glossary terms |
|---|---|
| Valuation and required return | Beta, cost of equity, weighted average cost of capital, exit multiple |
| Book value and working capital | Book value, working capital, net working capital, deferred revenue |
| Earnings and margins | EBIT, EBITDA, EBIT vs EBITDA, gross profit, gross margin vs operating margin |
| Cash-flow valuation | Free cash flow to equity, free cash flow to the firm, FCFF vs FCFE |
| SaaS and customer economics | Churn rate, revenue churn, net dollar retention, customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, LTV CAC ratio |
Use the Term in the Right Analytical Context
| Investor task | Concepts to connect | Deeper analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Understand company cash generation | Operating cash flow, capital expenditures, free cash flow, and cash conversion | Free cash flow |
| Interpret balance-sheet value | Book value, book value per share, price-to-book, and tangible equity | Book value per share |
| Connect risk to required return | Beta, expected return, risk premium, diversification, and CAPM | Capital asset pricing model |
| Interpret recurring-revenue quality | ARR, churn, retention, expansion, and net revenue retention | Net revenue retention |
Limits of a Glossary Definition
Limitation
A definition identifies the term; it does not establish the investment conclusion.
Valuation still depends on the business and its assumptions. Profitability needs cash-flow and accounting context. Risk depends on portfolio exposure and time horizon. Sector-specific metrics only become useful when they fit the economics of that business model.