Indicator

P/E ratio

A stock's price divided by its earnings per share: how many dollars investors pay for each dollar the company earns. A forward P/E uses expected earnings for the next year instead of the last one.

Why we track it

It is the quickest read on how expensive a stock or market is relative to its profits, and how much good news the price already assumes.

10-year Treasury yieldThe yearly return on a ten-year US government bond bought today and held to the end.
2-year Treasury yieldThe yearly return on a two-year US government bond.
30-year Treasury yieldThe yearly return on a thirty-year US government bond, the longest maturity the Treasury issues.
Buffett indicatorThe total market value of US nonfinancial company shares divided by the size of the economy (GDP).
CCC credit spreadThe extra yield investors demand to hold bonds rated CCC and below, the riskiest tier of the junk-bond market, over comparable Treasuries (ICE BofA US CCC & Lower option-adjusted spread).
Consumer price index (CPI)The Bureau of Labor Statistics' measure of the prices urban households pay for a basket of goods and services.

Why we track it

Related terms