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View Full Version : What is a 'beta'


ansolf
May 16, 2008, 11:03 AM
What is the meanimg of ''beta'' and explain how the ''beta'' of a company is determined.

ScottGem
May 16, 2008, 11:34 AM
Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. I've never heard it used in conjunction with a company or accounting. Generally it refers to development phases where the beta is in the final development phase.

morgaine300
May 17, 2008, 04:27 PM
This belongs in investing under Money & Services, not accounting. Accountants generally aren't concerned about this type of stuff.

Beta is how closely a stock's price is related to the market as a total. i.e. the S&P 500 by definition has a beta of 1.0. It exactly matches the market because it is the market. It's showing how volitile it is, or how sensitive it is to market changes. So a beta of 1.10 is 10% better than the market highs and 10% lower than its lows. (On average of course.) The higher the beta, the more volitile it is, because it "swings" more compared to the overall market. A beta under 1.0 (like .90) would mean it swings the opposite direction, going higher when the market goes lower, and going lower when the market goes higher.

It's one of the measurements of overall risk.

ScottGem
May 17, 2008, 04:32 PM
I'm going to leave it here until the OP comes back and explains the context.