BV per Share

How to read it

stockrow divides total shareholders’ equity by the weighted basic share count. Equity is what is left when liabilities are subtracted from assets on the balance sheet. The figure rises when the company retains profits or issues shares above the current book value per share, and falls with losses, write-downs, dividends, or buybacks at prices above it. More shares for the same equity lower it. It is shown for each quarter and each fiscal year.

What is typical

Banks, insurers, property companies and industrial businesses carry most of their value as recorded assets, so book value per share tends to say more about them. Software, consumer brand and service companies own much that the balance sheet barely records, such as brands and know-how, so their book value per share can be small relative to the business. Compare its growth with the median for the company’s sector rather than the level, since the level depends on how many shares a company has.

Pitfalls

Book value rests on accounting values, which may be far from what assets would fetch. Large buybacks can shrink it, or even push equity negative, while the business performs well. The share count is a weighted average for the period, while equity is measured at its end. On stockrow it feeds Book Value per Share Growth, so these effects carry into that rate.