General Motors Diluted Earnings Per Share? -$81 to -$111 in four days?

Question

Four days ago GM D.E.P.S. was -$81, now it is -$111. What does this tell you about GM?

Obviously I'm not asking is it a good investment or bad investment, but I wonder why that number is changing so drastically in such a short period of time?

Answer 1

Most places report the "trailing twelve months" (ttm) figure when reporting financial data. Since most companies only give a full financial statement in their quarterly reports, that means the ttm figure represents the last four quarterly reports. As a result, the figure will only be updated four times a year.

Since GM just reported earnings recently, the quarterly numbers from a year ago were dropped and the new figures were added. The $30 decrease means that in the most recent quarter the stock made $30 less (or lost $30 more) per diluted share than it did a year ago.  

Answer 2

Market volatility