Monday, April 29, 2013

Dilutive and Antidilutive Securities

Dilutive securities are financial instruments like stock options, warrants, convertible bonds, etc. which increases the number of Common stock, if exercised. It reduces the Basic EPS (Earnings Per Share). Only if the Diluted EPS is less than the Basic EPS then it is called Dilutive Securities

Anti-Dilutive Securities are financial instruments which are used to describe a convertible security which could increase a company’s EPS, if exercised or converted into Common Stock. Such conversions are not considered  when calculated EPS.

When a company has issued securities that can be exchanged for common shares, converting the securities into common shares would potentially dilute the ownership stake of existing shareholders. When calculating earnings per share, companies must consider the potential dilution.

For securities that pay a dividend or periodic interest payment, the after-tax payments would be added back to earnings (since those payments would no longer be necessary if the securities were converted.) Then, the number of shares into which the securities are converted is added to the shares outstanding.

Diluted EPS = (Earnings + After tax payments on convertible securities)/(Shares outstanding plus shares issued on conversion)
In some cases, securities would be antidilutive, or increase earnings per share if they were assumed to be converted. Such securities are not included in the diluted EPS calculation, as it is intended to represent the maximum possible dilution.