Earnings per share is the quotient of a company's net income divided by the number of shares of stock it has outstanding. In other words, EPS is a company's profit expressed on a per-share basis.

Earnings per share ... not have much meaning to investors because ordinary shareholders do not have direct access to the earnings. Instead, investors will compare EPS with the share price of ...

Earnings yields are calculated as earnings per share divided by share price ... lower than the corporate bond yield. This does not automatically mean the bond is the better choice, however.

Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to report earnings results for the second fiscal quarter after the market closes on Wednesday.