What is EPS growth? Formula, ranges and example
What is EPS growth?
EPS growth measures how much basic earnings per share changed from the comparable period a year earlier. Divide current-period basic EPS by prior-year comparable basic EPS, subtract 1 and multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.
Formula
EPS growth (%) = (current-period basic EPS ÷ prior-year comparable basic EPS − 1) × 100
- Use reported basic EPS, not diluted EPS or net-profit growth. EPS inputs in this example are JPY per share, not JPY million.
- Prefer the prior-year comparative in the current filing so both values reflect the same basis, including stock splits. Use a comparable prior filing only when that comparative is absent.
- A zero or negative prior EPS, missing inputs, or incompatible accounting standards, consolidation scopes, currencies or periods make growth unavailable, not zero.
- The API returns eps_growth as a fraction: 0.1 = 10%. With positive prior EPS and negative current EPS, the calculated rate is below −100%.
Ranges and interpretation
| Range | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| <0% | Earnings per share declined from a positive prior EPS; EPS itself is not necessarily negative. |
| 0% | Basic EPS is unchanged; total net profit and the share count need not be unchanged. |
| >0% | Basic EPS increased; this does not guarantee a rising share price or sustainable earnings growth. |
Worked example from a filing
Year ended March 31, 2026 (–)
IFRS · Consolidated · JPY
| Input | JPY/share |
|---|---|
| Current basic EPS (year ended March 2026) | 295.25 |
| Prior basic EPS (year ended March 2025, current-filing comparative) | 359.56 |
(295.25 ÷ 359.56 − 1) × 100 = -17.9%
Toyota’s basic EPS fell by about 17.9%, from the same filing’s March 2025 comparative of ¥359.56 per share to ¥295.25 per share for March 2026. The periods are April 1, 2024–March 31, 2025 and April 1, 2025–March 31, 2026, respectively, both on a consolidated IFRS basis. EPS remained positive in both periods.
Source elements
- Current basic EPS (year ended March 2026)
- jpcrp_cor:BasicEarningsLossPerShareIFRSSummaryOfBusinessResults
- CurrentYearDuration
- Prior basic EPS (year ended March 2025, current-filing comparative)
- jpcrp_cor:BasicEarningsLossPerShareIFRSSummaryOfBusinessResults
- Prior1YearDuration
What to watch
- Buybacks, share issuance and other share-count changes affect EPS, so EPS growth need not equal net-profit growth.
- Do not compare unadjusted pre-split and post-split EPS or mix basic and diluted EPS.
- One-off gains or losses and a small prior EPS can strongly affect growth. A loss-to-profit recovery is not expressed as ordinary percentage growth because its prior EPS is negative.
- The national ranking uses latest annual figures with a 100% EPS-growth cap to filter outliers, not an investment recommendation or growth target.