Stock Exchange from A to Z

Below you find a summary and definitions of the most important financial and stock exchange-related terms:

ATX
Austrian Traded Index
Price index calculated by the Vienna Stock Exchange, containing the most actively traded shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The ATX comprises approximately 20 shares, weighted in the index according to market capitalization and free float.

ATX Prime
Price index calculated by the Vienna Stock Exchange and containing all the shares of the ATX Prime Market segment.

Authorized capital
Authorization by resolution of the shareholders' meeting allowing the Managing Board to increase the share capital by a maximum of 50% within five years by issuing new shares.

Chart
Graph showing the daily, weekly or monthly prices for a particular share for a certain period.

Continuous trading
Continuous handling of all orders where price and quantity requested match up. Transactions can be concluded at any time during the opening hours of the stock exchange.

Corporate governance code
The corporate governance code represents a set of rules for the responsible management and control of a company.

Dividend
That part of a company's profits paid out to the shareholders. The amount of the dividend is proposed by the Managing Board of a company and approved in a resolution by the shareholders' meeting.

EBIT(D)A
Earnings before Interest, Taxes, (Depreciation), and Amortization of goodwill
This earnings measure is of particular interest in cases where companies have large amounts of fixed assets which are subject to heavy depreciation charges or in the case where a company has a large amount of acquired intangible assets on its books and is thus subject to large amortization. EBITDA is a good measure of comparing companies within industries.

EBIT
Earnings before Interest and Taxes
The EBIT is part of the profit and loss accounts; also often called "operating profit”

Ex-dividend
The price of the share is lowered by the amount of the dividend paid a few days before the day a dividend is paid out.

Free float
Portion of a company's shares that is held by a large number of private and institutional investors.

IFRS
International Financial Reporting Standards
IFRS are international accounting standards drawn up by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Complying with IFRS should enable investors and other relevant stakeholders to better compare annual accounts presented by companies from different countries.

IPO
Initial Public Offering
Admission of a company to list its shares on the stock exchange by selling company shares to the public.

Investor Relations
Interface between the company and the financial community. An Investor Relations department should regularly provide transparent, comprehensive and up-to-date information on developments within the company to shareholders, financial analysts, and investors.

ISIN
International Securities Identification Number
Individual identification number of a security enabling computerized international registration of a security.

Market capitalization
Market price of a listed company. This is calculated by multiplying the current share price by the number of company shares.

MEUR
Million Euros

Net liquidity
Cash and cash equivalents minus interest bearing financial liabilities.

No par value share
Share with no par value, referring to a certain interest in the company without stating a fixed amount.

Par value
Face value of a security. This is the amount the shareholder has contributed to the nominal share capital of the company. The par value gives no indication of the actual value of the share.

Prime market
Market segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange which contains stocks that are admitted to listing on the Official Market or Semi-Official Market and meet special additional listing criteria.

Road show
The management of a listed company presents the company's activities, strategies, and long-term prospects to national and international institutional investors and retail shareholders.

Share
Certificate that represents a certain stake in the nominal capital of a stock company.

Shareholders' meeting
Body of a stock company which usually meets at least once a year and takes resolutions on important company matters according to company law.

Share capital increase
Increase in the nominal capital of a stock company. Equity capital is paid into the company.

SPO
Secondary Public Offering
Selling of further shares of a company that is already publicly listed.

Stock Option Program
A company grants options to a defined group of executives for the purchase of shares of the company, which may be exercised at an agreed price after agreed performance criteria are met.

Volatility
Measure of the average fluctuation of a share price over a certain period. In statistics, the volatility is equal to the standard deviation.

WBI
Wiener Börse Index
(Vienna Stock Exchange Index)
The WBI contains all shares listed on the Official Market and the Semi-Official Market. The WBI as overall index reflects the development of the Austrian stock market as a whole.