BNET Business Dictionary

Business Definition for: Yield

  • a percentage of the amount invested that is the annual income from an investment.

    Yield is calculated by dividing the annual cash return by the current share price and expressing that as a percentage.

    Yields can be compared against the market average or against a sector average, which in turn gives an idea of the relative value of the share against its peers. Other things being equal, a higher yield share is preferable to that of an identical company with a lower yield.

    An additional feature of the yield (unlike many of the other share analysis ratios), is that it enables comparison with cash. Cash placed in an interest-bearing source like a bank account or a government stock, produces a yieldâ€"the annual interest payable. This is usually a safe investment. The yield from this cash investment can be compared with the yield on shares, which are far riskier. This produces a valuable basis for share evaluation.

    Share yield is less reliable than bank interest or government stock interest yield, because, unlike banks paying interest, companies are under no obligation at all to pay dividends. Frequently, if they go through a bad patch, even the largest companies will cut dividends or abandon paying them altogether.

Wiktionary Definition for: Yield

  • #To give way; to allow another to pass first
  • Ex:'''''Yield''' the right of way to pedestrians.''
  • #To give as required; to surrender, relinquish or capitulate.
  • Ex:''They refuse to '''yield''' to the enemy.''
  • #To produce as return, as from an investment
  • Ex:''Historically, that security '''yields''' a high return.''
  • #To produce as a result.
  • Ex:''Completing the mathematics correctly '''yields''' a result of five.''
  • A product; the quantity of something produced
  • Ex:''Zucchini plants always seem to produce a high '''yield''' of fruit.''

Additional Resources

Inverted Yield On Cost Curve: Not Always a Bad Thing?
Dividends4Life submits: A yield curve is the relationship between yield and maturity. In a "normal" yield curve yields rise as maturity lengthens. When yields drop as the term lengthens, it is referred to as an inverted yield curve. A Yield On Cost (current dividend/basis) curve, like a yield curve,...
Tags: Seeking Alpha, American Capital Strategies Ltd., Bank of America Corp., HCP Inc., National Retail Properties Inc., PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble Co.
External links 2008-09-02
Higher Yield, Safe Returns: Best Investment Bets
Money-market funds are now paying next to nothing. Boost your returns by moving some cash into higher-yielding but still relatively safe dividend stocks or bond funds. Here are five stocks and five funds that we like. ...
Tags: Bond, Stock, Dividend, Yield, MoneyWatch, Money-market Fund, Josh Peters, Financial Planning, Personal Finance, Financial Accounting, Investment, Finance, CD, Bond fund, GNMA, Ginnie Mae, Municipal bond, Muni, Dividends, Payout Ratio, Nate Hardcastle, _cbsn
Articles 2009-08-13
Assessing Yield
Yield is a broad term used in finance to mean cash returns on investments. In relation to shares, yield is the annual amount of dividend payments, if applicable, divided by the current share price. Figures published in the financial press are expressed as a percentage, and usually relate to the...
Tags: Investment, Financial accounting, performance, investor, financial, finance, dividend, BNET Editorial, bank, stock, yield
Articles 2007-07-30
The Yield Curve and Investor Sentiment (Part II)
John Jagerson submits: In the last section I talked about what a normal yield curve is and what it usually looks like. However, the yield curve will change over time and these changes can be very important indications for what investors think about the market today and what they...
Tags: US Market
External links 2008-08-27
Analysis of Yield Spreads on Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities
Yield spreads on commercial mortgage-backed securities CMBS are defined as the difference between the yield on CMBS and the yield on comparable-maturity Treasuries. CMBS yield spreads declined dramatically from 1992 until 1997, then increased in 1998 and 1999. The relationship between CMBS yield spreads and other variables is estimated in...
Tags: California State University, Yield, Analysis, Mortgage-backed Security, CMBS
White papers 2002-01-01
FRS17 and Estimates of the Sterling Double: A Corporate Yield Curve
This paper argues that the appropriate discount rate to use to report defined benefit pension plan liabilities in the financial statements is a yield derived from an estimate of a double A corporate yield curve. It introduces a new class of credit spread models finding that they obtain more robust...
Tags: Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Yield, Payroll Solutions
White papers 2004-01-01
Bond Yield Calculator
The Bond Yield Calculator for Excel or OpenOffice Calc enables the automatic generation of scheduled bond payments and the calculation of resulting yield to maturity. The model is equipped to handle 'odd' first time periods and is ideal to speed up bond payment and yield calculations. ...
Tags: Bond, Business Spreadsheets, Investment, Finance
Tools & templates 2008-01-01
High Yield Or Junk Bonds
A high yield, or junk, bond is a bond issued by a company that is considered to be a higher credit risk. The credit rating of a high yield bond is considered speculative grade or below investment grade. This means that the chance of default with high yield bonds is...
Tags: Bond, Investment, Finance
White papers
Cadence Introduces Industry's First Yield Diagnostics Tool; Encounter Test Pinpoints Most Critical Design-Related Yield Issues
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN) (Nasdaq:CDN) today announced CadenceR EncounterTM Diagnostics, the industry's first yield diagnostics tool. Encounter Diagnostics accelerates yield by identifying customers' most critical nanometer IC yield issues and precisely locating root cause defects. The result is higher yield in less time. The new...
Tags: Cadence Design Systems Inc., tool
Research articles 2004-10-19
Renesas Technology Adopts Ponte's Model-Based Yield Analysis Technology; Will Use for 65nm Technologies and Work With Ponte for Advanced Yield Analysis Technologies
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Ponte Solutions, Inc., the design-for-yield company, today announced that Renesas Technology Corp., Japan has adopted its model-based yield analysis technology for critical area analysis and enabling reduction of yield-loss due to random defect-limited yield issues. The two companies will work together on more advanced analysis, addressing...
Research articles 2005-10-20
News in brief: CSFB rejigs high yield.
Credit Suisse First Boston has reorganised its high-yield debt team following the departure of Jon Ezrow, co-head of US high-yield capital markets. Tim O'Hara, who co-headed the US team with Ezrow, has been appointed head of global high-yield capital Credit Suisse First Boston has reorganised its...
Tags: Credit Suisse Group AG, capital market, team
Research articles 2003-08-10
Magma Enhances DFM Product Offering with Blast Yield TX and New LPC Capabilities in Quartz DRC — Supports TSMC 65-nm Process; Integrated CMP Modeling, CAA and LPC Capabilities Improve Yield
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- MagmaR Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of semiconductor design software, today announced Blast YieldTM TX, an enhancement to Blast Yield that integrates the TSMC virtual chemical-mechanical polishing CMP engine and TSMC-correlated critical area analysis CAA, and the new lithography process check LPC capabilities of QuartzTM...
Tags: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Research articles 2006-05-17
Most likely corn yield?
Iowa State University Extension Climatologist Elwynn Taylor updated his yield expectations last week. As of June 1, he says a national average corn yield of 154 bu. per acre is "most likely." He also says the chance of a record-high corn yield (above 163 bu. per ...
Tags: Iowa State University
Research articles 2007-06-09
Sponsored Report: High Yield - Seeking global exposure in high yield.
Global high yield FT Mandate: Following the credit rating downgrade, Ford and General Motors now accounts for 7 per cent of the Merrill Lynch Global High Yield Index. Does this concentration represent a risk or a golden investment opportunity for high yield...
Tags: bond, FINANCE, General Motors Corp., Investment, yield
Research articles 2006-03-01
Montgomery Securities Hires Additional High Yield Professionals
SAN FRANCISCO--BUSINESS WIRE--Feb. 19, 1997--Montgomery Securities today announced that it has made two new additions to its high yield effort. Robert Heffes has been hired as a principal in the high yield trading department and Trish Parisi has been hired as a principal in high yield sales....
Tags: Business Wire, FINANCE, Investment, Salomon Brothers
Research articles 1997-02-19
Dow Chemical: A Legitimate High Yield Stock
Dan Pritch submits: Legitimate High Yield Stocks are hard to come by as evidenced by the raft of dividend cuts this year, in addition to the stocks that have clearly seen the market price in a future cut when yields swell high into the double digits. Many of these...
Tags: Materials/Industrials, Everyday Finance, American Capital Strategies Ltd., The Dow Chemical Co.
External links 2008-12-22
High Yield and Corporate Credit Spreads
Hickey and Walters Bespoke submit: Below we highlight historical charts of the Merrill Lynch High Yield and Corporate Credit Spread indices since the end of 1996. These indices measure the difference between yields on comparable length Treasuries and high yield and corporate bonds. The current yield...
Tags: US Market, Bespoke Investment Group
External links 2009-04-17
Net Payout Yield Make CSX Attractive
Stone Fox Capital submits: Railroad stocks like CSX CSX have been out of favor for awhile because of declining shipments. CSX though continues to maintain a 2.8% dividend that, while attractive, is not overwhelming in this environment where stocks move up or down by 20% sometimes in a day. We...
Tags: Transport, Stone Fox Capital, CSX Corp.
External links 2009-05-11
BNP Paribas Expands Its New York High Yield Business
NEW YORK -- BNP Paribas is pleased to announce several new additions to its High Yield effort in the U.S. The appointments include: John Agnew - Senior High Yield Trader, reporting to Mark Alexandridis, Head of Credit Trading; Dan Raedle - Senior High Yield Salesman, and Hutch Pegler - Senior...
Tags: BNP Paribas SA
Research articles 2004-08-16
Fitch Ratings to Launch Reformatted 'High Yield Market Weekly' Each Friday
CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings will issue a newly reformatted version of its 'High Yield Market Weekly' newsletter beginning Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. The newsletter, previously issued each Monday morning, will now be issued on Friday afternoons in order to provide important high yield information and key commentary on a more...
Tags: Fitch Ratings
Research articles 2006-01-03
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