Investing glossary
Plain-language definitions of the investing terms you meet in filings, in the news and in Finzer.
13 terms, all of them on this page
N
Net Asset Value
Net Asset Value (NAV) is the total value of a fund’s assets minus its liabilities, divided by shares outstanding. Learn how NAV is calculated, what drives it, and how investors actually use it.
Net Debt
Net debt measures a company’s total debt minus its cash and cash equivalents. Learn how to calculate it, interpret it, and use it to judge balance sheet risk.
Net Income
Net income is a company’s profit after all expenses, taxes, interest, and one-time items are deducted from revenue. Learn how it’s calculated, why investors obsess over it, and how to use it intelligently.
Net Margin
Net margin measures how much profit a company keeps from each dollar of revenue after all expenses. Learn how to analyze it, compare companies, and spot real profitability.
Net National Income
Net National Income measures a country’s total income after depreciation and foreign income flows are accounted for. Learn how it differs from GDP, why investors watch it, and how to use it in practice.
Net National Product
Net National Product is a country’s total economic output after subtracting depreciation from Gross National Product. Learn how it’s calculated, why economists care, and what it signals to investors.
Net Profit Margin
Net profit margin shows what percentage of revenue a company keeps as profit after all expenses. Learn how to interpret it, what drives it, and how investors actually use it.
Net Working Capital
Net working capital measures a company’s short-term liquidity by subtracting current liabilities from current assets. Learn how to calculate it, interpret it, and use it to spot financial strength-or trouble-before the market does.
Nominal GDP
Nominal GDP measures the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy using current prices, without adjusting for inflation. Learn how to interpret it, why it can mislead investors, and how to use it correctly.
Nominal Return
Nominal return is the percentage gain or loss on an investment before adjusting for inflation, taxes, or fees. Learn how it’s calculated, why it can mislead, and how smart investors use it correctly.
Nominal vs Real Returns
Nominal returns show your raw investment gains, while real returns adjust those gains for inflation. Learn why the difference can quietly make or break long-term wealth.
Nonfarm Payrolls
Nonfarm Payrolls is a monthly U.S. jobs report that tracks how many jobs were added or lost, excluding farm workers and a few other categories. Learn how investors read it, why markets react so violently, and how to actually use it.
Normal Distribution
A normal distribution is a probability distribution where outcomes cluster symmetrically around an average, with about 68%, 95%, and 99.7% of results falling within one, two, and three standard deviations. Learn how investors use it to assess risk, returns, and when markets behave very differently than expected.