What Does Outperform Mean?
Let me explain what 'outperform' means in the world of finance. You often hear this term in financial news when analysts rate securities. If an analyst upgrades a stock from 'market perform' or 'underperform' to 'outperform,' it signals that their analysis shows the security will deliver higher returns than major market indexes for the near future.
You'll also see 'outperform' used to compare returns between investments. If one investment beats another, it outperforms it. This is especially common when stacking an investment against a benchmark like the S&P 500. Investment pros always measure against such indexes, so we say a stock outperforms if it tops the S&P 500.
Key Takeaways
Here's what you need to remember: Outperform serves as an analyst rating, often a 2 on a scale where 1 is best and 5 is worst. It can also just describe one security performing better than another. Companies outperform peers by handling production and marketing more efficiently.
What Makes a Company Outperform?
Think about an index made up of similar companies by industry or market cap. If a company pulls in more revenue and profit than its peers, its stock price will rise faster—that's outperforming. This can come from smart management, market trends, strong networks, or even good fortune.
When senior leaders make choices that boost revenue and earnings quicker than competitors, it builds a strong reputation. Analysts spot these traits and predict stock price gains for these standout companies.
For instance, if a fund benchmarks against the S&P 500 and the manager picks 15 stocks with higher expected EPS than the index average, they'll overweight those in the portfolio to aim for outperformance.
Examples of Analyst Ratings
An analyst's rating reflects their view on a stock's potential return, including price growth and dividends. There's no universal rating system, but a higher rating means better expected outperformance over time.
Outperform usually sits above neutral or hold but below strong buy. It suggests the stock will beat similar companies, though not necessarily the top in its index. Analysts get judged on how well their rated stocks actually perform.
How Portfolio Managers Are Ranked
If a manager keeps choosing stocks that beat the benchmark, their fund delivers higher returns, and the media notices. Rankings come from comparing fund returns to the benchmark and assessing portfolio volatility.
Sites like Morningstar categorize funds by benchmark and rank them by relative performance. This is how you can see which managers truly outperform over time.
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