The net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the average number of ordinary shares in issue over a period of time. A fully diluted EPS calculation means that the figure is adjusted to take account of ordinary shares that will be issued under options or convertible securities in the future – these further shares will reduce the future earnings attributable to each share when they are issued.

Publicly traded companies, whose performance is often measured by EPS, must report their EPS in their interim and annual reports in accordance with International Accounting Standard 33.