Official definition · 官方定义
“The Price Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) is the relationship between a company’s stock price and earnings per share (EPS).”[1]
— Corporate Finance Institute, CFI Resource Library · corporatefinanceinstitute.com ↗ · accessed 2026-10-25
The price-to-earnings ratio divides a share price by earnings per share. It says how many dollars investors pay for one dollar of annual profit, or roughly how many years of current earnings the price represents.
市盈率等于股价除以每股收益。它表示投资者为每一美元年利润付多少钱，也可以粗略理解为「按当前利润要多少年回本」。
The P/E ratio is the fastest way to compare companies of different sizes, and the easiest to misuse. A low multiple can mean cheap, or it can mean the market expects earnings to collapse. A high multiple can mean expensive, or it can mean earnings are about to grow fast. Always ask which earnings you divided by, and what the market is assuming about the next ones.
市盈率是比较不同规模公司最快的方法，也最容易被误用。低倍数可能是便宜，也可能是市场预期利润要崩；高倍数可能是贵，也可能是利润马上要高速增长。
永远先问两件事：你除的是哪一档利润？市场对下一档利润做了什么假设？
Low P/E means cheap
It often prices in a decline. Check the earnings quality first.
P/E uses last year's profit
Trailing and forward P/E differ, sometimes by a lot.
P/E works for all companies
It breaks for loss-makers, banks and asset-heavy firms.
· trade at 18 times earnings
· forward P/E
· the multiple compressed
· a premium rating
· earnings multiple
trade at 18 times earnings 以 18 倍盈利交易；forward P/E 预期市盈率；the multiple compressed 倍数压缩；a premium rating 估值溢价；earnings multiple 盈利倍数。
· P/E vs earnings yield (the inverse)
· trailing vs forward
P/E 的倒数是盈利收益率；trailing 用已实现利润，forward 用预测利润，比较时必须在同一口径上。
The shares trade at X times forward earnings, versus Y times for the sector.
对比句：股价为预期盈利的 X 倍，行业为 Y 倍——versus 后面跟的才是估值的参照系。