Consistent expansion in earnings p...

Consistent expansion in earnings per share ("EPS") is undivided of the primary indicators of "quality growth" and "quality management." Managers who can wax EPS consistently over several years are generally considered to be doing a proper job for shareowners. Companies that manage to increase EPS during tough economic times are particularly notable and make interesting candidates for studying with the aid of the Stock Selection Guide and Stock Tracking Guide.

A convenient way to identify companies that manage to sprout EPS is to use a computer to search a database. Various "on-line" financial databases are available to investors with a computer and a modem You can dial-up these databases and search for companies that come up to face to face any screening criteria that you wish to specify.

Alternatively, you can purchase a database available forward computer diskettes such as that produc by dint of Stock Guide Publications Inc. We riddle the Stock Guide database of about 1000 companies for those whose general shares met four EPS germination criteria.

The riddles reflect EPS data for the latest three fiscal years as reported in the May 25 1996 Stock Guide database.

Screen I

Companies whose fiscal-year EP (fully diluted and before extraordinary items) were positive for each of the past three years (483 companies survived this screen)

Screen 2

Surviving companies with EP each year greater than the previous year (181 companies survived this screen)

Screen 3

Surviving companies whose EP extension for the most recent fiscal year was greater than the EP shooting for the previous fiscal year (52 companies survived this screen)

Screen 4

Survivors that had a pay with an abatement EPS annual growth rate of 10% or more (46 companies survived this screen) It should be noted that none of the companies that survived this veil did so because of "unusual items".

In total, alone 46 companies survived these four guards It is interesting to note that when similar disguises were reported in the July/August 1995 issue of Canadian Shareowner, 64 companies made the chisel while July/August 1994 yielded 72 companies.

Copyright Canadian Shareowner Magazine Inc. Jul/Aug 1996

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