Definition of surplus
1a : the amount that remains when use or need is satisfiedb : an excess of receipts over disbursements
2 : the excess of a corporation's net worth over the par or stated value of its stock
Examples
Definition of surplus
1a : the amount that remains when use or need is satisfiedb : an excess of receipts over disbursements
2 : the excess of a corporation's net worth over the par or stated value of its stock
Examples of surplus in a Sentence
If there is any surplus, it will be divided equally.
There is a surplus of workers and not enough jobs.
Recent Examples of surplus from the Web
Westpac needs A$700 million of fresh capital, while ANZ Bank has a A$1.4 billion surplus, Morgan Stanley said.
Premera, Regence and Kaiser all say their surpluses are prudent.
Total margin counts the surpluses generated by non-medical operations, chiefly investment returns.
During the election campaign, Trump criticized a 2012 U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement because of a large South Korean trade surplus for merchandise.
To meet that goal, $669,420 of the projected $1.22 million operating surplus for 2017-18 will be assigned to reserves.
During the election campaign, Trump criticized the agreement because of a large South Korean trade surplus for merchandize.
Researchers once thought complex religion and society came about only after agriculture guaranteed early societies a food surplus.
Accessories: Circular pixel tiger rug ($650) displayed on the floor of the mezzanine; Army-surplus-parachute-material shopping bag ($60).
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word'surplus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Financial Definition of SURPLUS
What It Is
How It Works
Let's look at an example to illustrate.
Assume Company XYZ has been in business for five years, and it has reported the following annual net income:
Year 1: $10,000
Year 2: $5,000
Year 3: -$5,000
Year 4: $1,000
Year 5: -$3,000
Assuming Company XYZ paid no dividends during this time, XYZ's earned surplus is the sum of its net profits since inception: $10,000 + $5,000 - $5,000 + $1,000 - $3,000 = $8,000.
In subsequent years, XYZ's earned surplus will change by the amount of each year's net income, less dividends.
The statement of earned surplus summarizes changes in earned surplus for a fiscal period, and total earned surplus appears in the shareholders' equity portion of the balance sheet. This means that every dollar of earned surplus is essentially another dollar of shareholders' equity.
A company's board of directors may "appropriate" some or all of the company's earned surplus when it wants to restrict dividend distributions to shareholders. Appropriations are usually done at the board's discretion, although bondholders may contractually require the board to do so. Appropriations appear as a special account in the earned surplus section. When an appropriation is no longer needed, it is transferred back to earned surplus. Because earned surplus is not cash, a company may fund appropriations by setting aside cash or marketable securities for the projects indicated in the appropriation.
Why It Matters
It is important to understand that earned surplus does not represent extra cash or cash left over after the payment of dividends. Rather, earned surplus demonstrates what a company did with its profits; they are the amount of profit the company has reinvested in the business since its inception. These reinvestments are either asset purchases or liability reductions.
Earned surplus somewhat reflects a company's dividend policy, because it ref