Stupid Finance Question

I know this is a dumb question but I have a question regarding a finance topic. What is the difference between multiples and ratios? I see them in one of my classes but I care more when this is brought up during interviews.

 

1) Multiple is also a ratio (in a sense that it has a numerator and a denominator) but instead of being commonly expressed as percentage e.g. 60% LTC it is expressed as e.g. 13.4x P/E (stock trades at 13.4 times its earnings)

2) Multiple is used for enterprise value (EV) such as e.g. EV/EBITDA or EV/Sales or earnings such as P/E and the main goal is to compare market/estimated value to an item on the financial statements; on the other hand, ratios are a much broader term used to describe comparisons between items on the financial statements (size of one relative to the other item) including any type of profitability, leverage and liquidity ratios. Hope this helps a bit.

 

Deserunt ad quidem id sunt voluptatum accusantium praesentium. Dolor quia aliquam inventore impedit nemo qui. Et eum repellat rem doloremque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”