Economic Value Added (EVA)

Overview

What if you could measure a company’s true profitability not just by profit alone, but by how well it creates value for shareholders? That’s where Economic Value Added, or EVA, comes in. EVA is a performance metric that shows whether a company is generating returns above its cost of capital. It’s used by managers and investors to assess whether a business is creating or destroying value. Visually, EVA is calculated by subtracting the cost of capital from a company’s net operating profit after taxes. To apply it, businesses compare their EVA over time or against industry benchmarks. In essence, EVA turns financial data into a clear signal of real economic performance.